RFID's Retail Expansion

Inching Closer to Mass Retail RFID Adoption
RFID Industry Shows New Life

Last week’s RFID Journal LIVE! had a different vibe – one that says the technology is now seen as an important tool for improving business operations.

By Mark Roberti, Founder & Editor of RFID Journal

The radio frequency identification industry has seen numerous setbacks over the years. It was starting to gain momentum in 2008, and then the financial collapse caused many companies to pull the plug on projects. Then, the industry started coming back and patent lawsuits slapped on users, such as Walmart and John Deere, caused many companies to back away from the technology again. The industry was picking up a third time when the global pandemic hit. But last week’s RFID Journal LIVE! event showed that the pandemic has actually accelerated interest in adopting RFID and other Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

The event was smaller than usual, because many overseas exhibitors and attendees were unable to participate. But there was tremendous energy and excitement that could be felt throughout the three three days. Attendees were extremely engaged and had clear ideas about what they want to do with the technology.

GS1 US and the Auburn RFID Lab host an invitation-only lunch for retailers and their suppliers each year. This year, we had some new faces (Apple and Amazon were notable). But the conversations were also interesting. I can share anything I heard as that is one of the ground rules of the lunch, but I can say the discussions were about rolling out the technology, not about whether RFID delivers value or not.

I spoke to one consultant who works with many different retailers, and he said: “It is amazing how many retailers are moving [rolling out RFID] all at once.” So, it’s not just Walmart and Nordstrom who are deploying RFID in stores. Other retailers are doing so as well. Justin Patton, director of the Auburn RFID Lab estimates that about 20 percent of all apparel is currently tagged. He believes that when it hits 35 percent or so, that will be the tipping point for all retailers to start using the technology.

Mass adoption of RFID in apparel retail is close, maybe a year or two (or three) away. From apparel, the technology will spread to automotive, electronics, health and beauty, sporting goods and other retail sectors. Mass adoption across all of retail will lead to lower prices and better products, which will propel adoption of RFID in other sectors. It’s an exciting time for the RFID industry. Let’s just hope something else doesn’t come along to slow its momentum. rfidjournal.com

Stay tuned this week for a full recap of RFID Journal LIVE!
 

The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

America's Gun Violence Epidemic on Display Over Holiday Weekend

300+ Shootings, 130+ Killed Over Bloody Memorial Day Weekend
More Than 130 People Were Shot And Killed Nationwide This Weekend in 300+ Shooting Incidents Across the U.S.

“It’s important to recognize that people are dying every single day from gun violence that doesn’t make national headlines.”

A Memorial Day festival in Oklahoma. A house party in Philadelphia. A graduation celebration in Alabama. As Americans came together for the holiday weekend, the drumbeat of gun violence continued to shatter peace across the country.

While the shocking and deadly mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York were topics of conversation for many people at beach and backyard gatherings over the long weekend, hundreds of smaller shootings nationwide ended lives, injured bodies, and left families reeling.

In just a 72-hour span over Memorial Day weekend, there were more than 300 shooting incidents across the US, according to data tabulated by the Gun Violence Archive.

More than 130 people were killed, including a 16-year-old girl and 21-year-old woman shot dead around 1 a.m. on Monday at a holiday party in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood.

Many of the other shootings injured just one person. But some, like the gunfire that erupted on an interstate in southeast Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon, wounded as many as seven.

The murder of 19 children and two adults in their Texas classrooms last week caused widespread horror and opened the door for the first time in years to the prospect — however slim — of federal action on guns. But it has also put the country on edge.

Anti-gun violence advocates say they feel hopeful the fraught national mood may translate into political action, but they’re urging Americans and the media to be mindful of the violence that occurs in between the headline-grabbing mass shootings. buzzfeednews.com

More Coverage of Memorial Day Weekend Gun Violence

● 43 people, 8 killed shot in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend
● 12 Killed, 15 Injured During Memorial Day Weekend Shootings in Philadelphia
● Seven people shot in NYC during Memorial Day weekend, two killed: cops
● Baltimore, MD.: Four dead, including teen, in multiple weekend shootings
● 10 people shot in 10 shootings in 24 hours in Portland
● 1 killed, 8 wounded in shooting at Southern California party
● Agency: 1 dead, 7 injured in Oklahoma festival shooting

The Push to Curb America's Gun Violence Epidemic
States rush toward new gun restrictions as Congress remains gridlocked
Congress failed to impose gun restrictions after the school massacres in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and there’s little confidence that 21 deaths at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, will change matters now. But states aren’t waiting.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy urged lawmakers to advance firearms safety measures, including raising the age to 21 for purchases of long guns and exposing gun-makers to lawsuits.

In New York — where an 18-year-old in Buffalo was charged two weeks ago with committing a racist mass shooting — Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would seek to ban people under 21 from purchasing AR-15-style rifles.

And in California — where a politically motivated mass shooting erupted at a luncheon of older churchgoers this month — legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom fast-tracked tougher controls on firearms.

In Republican-controlled statehouses, however, the moves evoked an equal and opposite reaction. A day after Uvalde, rural conservatives in Pennsylvania and Michigan beat back Democratic attempts to force votes on long-blocked gun safety legislation.

New York and other states pursuing strict gun laws are, in many ways, hampered by the lack of a coherent gun policy from Congress and the flow of illegal firearms from states with looser laws. Research shows that gun crimes in states with tough restrictions are often committed with firearms from more permissive states. mercurynews.com  nytimes.com

RELATED: Senate Dem ‘hopeful’ Congress will pass bill to address mass shootings

39 Security Officers Killed in Active Shooter Events Since 2005
Dozens of Unarmed Security Officers Killed During Active Shooter Incidents

"Shots fired, shots fired! Multiple people have been shot!"

These have been the words of unarmed security officers during Active Shooter incidents across the country more than 88 times during the past nine years!

Security officers are gunned down every year at hotels, concerts, malls, grocery stores, and nightclubs during an active shooter bloodbath and are unable to defend themselves or protect others.

Since 2005, Private Officer International has collected the data and statistics involving private security and private law enforcement and has created a substantial database reflecting the tens of thousands of assaults, injuries, and deaths, including those that have occurred during true Active Shooter killings.

Since 2005 and including the data so far this year, 39 security officers have been killed during an Active Shooter incident and another 28 have been shot and critically wounded. There have been seven years where three or more security officers have been murdered during these violent attacks.

Of the thirty-nine security officers that were killed, we know of only five who were armed. People who wear uniforms and badges and whom many see as authority figures will always be targets for abuse, assaults, attacks, injuries, and death.

Each year, violent attacks and homicides of security personnel continue to climb and will continue to do so with no end in sight. Private Officer International is announcing June is Active Shooter Awareness and Training month.

We will offer FREE Active Shooter training for both unarmed and armed security and provide numerous free tools, insights from true experts, and a certificate for all who complete the training. This will be made available to anyone! privateofficer.org

Editorial: America needs a Memorial Day for gun-violence victims
 
Guns overtake cars as leading cause of death for U.S. youth

Canada introduces law to freeze handgun sales, ban look-alike toys


Another U.S. Epidemic: Growing Retail Crime & Violence

Retailers & Lawmakers Discuss Bill To Curb ORC
Cassidy, Durbin Meet With Major Retail CEOs To Discuss INFORM Consumers Act
U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with several retail CEOs to discuss their Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act, which passed the House as part of the America COMPETES Act and is currently being conferenced with the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA).

The bipartisan legislation will combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerous consumer products by ensuring transparency of high-volume third-party sellers in online retail marketplaces. The Senators were joined by the CEOs of Home Depot, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger.

“Criminal organizations are attempting to trick consumers into buying counterfeit and hazardous products online,” said. Dr. Cassidy. “It was great to discuss our bipartisan solution to increase transparency and help consumers distinguish between genuine retailers and fraudsters with private sector leaders.”

“People deserve to know basic information about those who sell them consumer products online,” said Senator Durbin. “By providing appropriate verification and transparency of high-volume third party sellers, the INFORM Consumers Act will shine a light that will deter online sales of stolen, counterfeit, and unsafe goods and protect consumers. Today’s meeting was productive and I look forward to working with Senator Cassidy and our broad coalition of supporters to get this bill across the finish line.”

The INFORM Consumers Act would direct online retail marketplaces that include third-party sellers of consumer products to authenticate the identity of “high-volume third-party sellers,” which will help deter the online sale of counterfeit goods by anonymous sellers and prevent organized retail crime rings from stealing items from stores to resell those items in bulk online. The bill will also ensure that purchasers can obtain basic identification and contact information for high-volume third party sellers of consumer products on online marketplaces. cassidy.senate.gov

Retail Violence 'Escalating Exponentially'
Violence associated with property theft, shoplifting increasing, experts say
Experts say the violence associated with these shoplifting and theft crimes is escalating exponentially, with innocent people losing their lives over merchandise.

Adam Black a bystander at a Fairfield Township Walmart was shot and killed Thursday by Anthony Brown, who was accused of shoplifting. Captain Doug Lanier with Fairfield Township Police said it’s not worth it to intervene.

Retail theft has evolved though. Lisa Labruno, Senior Executive VP of retail operations with the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said it is no longer just a property crime like it used to be.

Retail theft is happening more frequently, as is the quantity of products being stolen daily, with losses exceeding $68 billion dollars a year in retail in the United States. But even more importantly, it’s getting more violent.

"It's getting more brazen, it's getting more violent, and you know that it’s caused in part by the lack of accountability that these criminal actors are being held to," Labruno said.

Labruno said many shoplifters feel it's a high reward, low risk crime because there's a lack of accountability. Online marketplaces are another contributor due to the anonymity in which criminal actors can sell stolen product.

"To see more and more theft, and more and more violence. Honest people are getting more and more frustrated and wanting to do something about it,” Labruno said. “And while we can appreciate the emotional investment in wanting to help stop it, it's just become too unsafe." wcpo.com

Eric Adams to address NYC crime with business elite

Op-Ed: Mayor Eric Adams’ loud promises to NYC businesses not kept

Las Cruces business leaders slam city leaders over property crime

 

COVID Update

586.5M Vaccinations Given

US: 85.7M Cases - 1M Dead - 82.1M Recovered
Worldwide: 532.2M Cases - 6.3M Dead - 503.1M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 358  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 774
*Red indicates change in total deaths

The Invisible COVID Wave
Why a Massive New Covid Wave Has Escaped the Data

Home testing and curbed state tracking efforts hold down closely watched infection totals, making it hard to shape coronavirus strategies

The U.S. has lost count of Covid cases. For the past two pandemic years, nearly everyone has obsessed over the daily number of reported Covid-19 infections.

A web search for “Covid” or “coronavirus” yields, as the first chart, the reported number of Covid-19 cases. The number is also the first item in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid data tracker. It is a statistic that is far off the actual number of coronavirus infections, and likely getting worse.

Today, there are abundant home tests that typically aren’t reported to health agencies, and thus never get included in case counts. State-run testing centers, which once fed case totals directly into the numbers, have been curtailed.

“Pretty much everyone agrees we’re underestimating case counts,” said Keri Althoff, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins University. “It makes it really hard to use those numbers to respond.” wsj.com

COVID Lockdowns Fueling Apple Factory Backlash
Apple factory’s Shanghai workers revolt over ‘draconian’ COVID-19 lockdowns
Worker unrest is on the rise at the Shanghai factory of a major supplier for Apple gadgets, with protests at times turning violent in response to draconian “COVID zero” lockdowns.

Workers at the Quanta Computer plant — which makes Apple’s MacBook laptops — have been under strict lockdown for nearly two months with limited supplies as the Chinese government takes drastic measures to keep production online despite a recent COVID-19 case surge.

But the fed-up employees – most of whom are low-wage earners – have reportedly started to revolt against the measures. The unrest has included violent confrontations involving hundreds of workers and the factory’s guards, as well as incidents in which employees have bypassed barriers to seek out basic supplies.

Tensions ran so high last weekend that a group of workers stormed a housing facility to confront Quanta’s Taiwanese managers. The incident led to a lengthy standoff as the workers demanded better pay and an end to the lockdown. Bloomberg reported on rising unrest at the plant, citing conversations with people familiar with the matter. The Quanta Computer facility manufacturers Apple MacBook laptops.

“People are getting frustrated and tired of these controls,” one worker at the locked-down facility told Bloomberg. “That’s inevitable, especially when there is no timeline on when all this will end.” nypost.com

COVID Pulled People Out of Offices - Traffic Keeps Them Away
Dreaded Daily Commute to the City Is Keeping Offices Mostly Empty

Urban areas where people live closer to work have a higher return-to-office rate, WSJ analysis shows

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a surge in remote work, emptying out office towers as more people worked from home. Cities with longer commutes have taken the biggest economic hit, while urban areas where people live closer to work have a higher return-to-office rate, according to The Wall Street Journal’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data and building-access company Kastle Systems.

Recent polling of office workers supports the analysis. In a Gallup survey last summer, for example, 52% of those who want to work remotely listed avoiding commuting time as a top reason they don’t want to go to the office. Other common reasons, like well-being and flexibility, are also closely tied to the commute.

“I think it is the biggest factor,” said Richard Florida, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and School of Cities. “Economists and psychologists have long said that a long commute is the most immiserating condition of daily life. So it makes sense that this is what people want to avoid.” wsj.com

As summer begins, US COVID-19 cases six times higher than last year

What restrictions were in place the last time COVID cases were so high

Shanghai moves toward ending 2-month COVID-19 lockdown

 

Public Scraping Images Violating Data Privacy Globally
Countries Hit FRT Data Scraper Clearview AI With Fines Worldwide
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office announced it has fined facial recognition artificial intelligence company Clearview AI more than £7.5 million (nearly $10 million) for using images of people in the UK and elsewhere that were collected from social media to create a global online database that could be used for facial recognition. What’s more, the watchdog organization issued an enforcement notice, ordering the company to stop obtaining and using the personal data of UK residents that is publicly available on the internet, and to delete the data of UK residents from its systems.

Clearview AI has scraped more than 20 billion images of people’s faces and data from publicly available information on the internet including social media platforms without their consent.

It’s not the first time Clearview AI has run afoul of organizations policing data privacy. Data protection authorities in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, and German have also hit Clearview AI with fines. informationweek.com

RELATED: Tech Leaders Say Facial-Recognition Clampdown Will Spur Innovation

$44M Invoice Fraud & Cryptocurrency-Related Swindling Global Gang Busted in Hungary by Europol & Police
Five arrests in Hungary for money laundering across three continents
The Budapest Metropolitan Police (Budapesti Rendőr-főkapitányság), supported by Europol, dismantled a criminal organisation involved in money laundering and perpetrating fraud using administrative documents.

The action day on 9 May led to:

● 24 house searches in Budapest, in Pest County and in Szabolcs-Szatmár Bereg County
● 16 suspects apprehended and interrogated
● 5 arrests (pre-trial custody)
● Seizures of funds in 32 countries across Europe, Australia and South America
● Seizures including: one high-end vehicle, large quantities of electronic equipment, mobile phones and sim cards, data storage devices, payment cards, weapons and ammunitions, jewellery, pledge ticket for a value of about EUR 740 and the equivalent of more than EUR 120 000 cash in different currencies

About EUR 5 million identified as linked to criminal activities

The investigation uncovered that the members of the criminal network established a number of companies with no meaningful economic activities, and purchased others with the use of strawmen. The suspects opened bank accounts in the name of these companies to be used in a chain within a money laundering scheme. The bank accounts received transfers from other accounts based in different countries; these assets usually originated from invoice fraud or cryptocurrency-related swindling.

Estimated to be active since September 2020, the criminal network is suspected of laundering million euros of criminal proceeds. More than EUR 44 million has been received on accounts linked to the criminal group, while the criminal origin of a further EUR 5 million has already been identified.

The investigation uncovered 44 individuals involved in these criminal activities, 10 of which organised the activity, while 34 were acting as strawmen. Only connected with the scheme via recruiters, the strawmen were mainly involved with the money laundering process as opposed to the frauds committed outside of Hungary. europa.eu

See how Europol is tackling Organized Property Crime & Mobile Organized Crime Groups

Retail's Union Effort Continues
Apple Store Showdown: Inside the Battle for Union Representation

Weary from the pandemic and pressured by inflation, retail employees of the tech giant are holding votes on whether to unionize.

The exchanges cut to the heart of a contest with implications for some 272 Apple stores across the United States. Two decades after redefining retail with sleek architecture and concierge tech support, Apple is being confronted by the industry’s latest trend: organized labor.

Unionization has been on the rise at Starbucks, REI and Dollar General as employees feel the squeeze of inflation and tire of pandemic risks. The stresses unleashed by those forces also have roiled the tech sector, helping employees emboldened by a tight labor market win support for unions in the video game industry and at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island.

Ms. Rhodes and colleagues were expected to be the first Apple store to vote on joining a union this Thursday. But late last week, they suspended the election. Apple stores in Towson, Md., and New York City’s Grand Central Terminal are still expected to hold votes in coming weeks, and more than two dozen more have expressed interest in organizing, union leaders say.

The labor movement has worried Apple executives, who strive to foster love for Apple among employees and customers. The unions could bring an end to 20 years of burnishing the Apple brand with cheerful salespeople hawking $1,000 phones. The company has suggested that they also have the potential to increase operating costs and hobble the introduction of new products. nytimes.com

Behind Retail's Formula Shortage
F.D.A. Chief Details ‘Shocking’ Conditions at Baby Formula Plant

Agency inspectors found a leaking roof, standing water and cracked production equipment before a facility shutdown that led to major shortages.

The Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan that was shut down in February, sparking a widespread baby formula shortage crisis, had a leaking roof, water pooled on the floor and cracks in key production equipment that allowed bacteria to get in and persist, Dr. Robert Califf, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, told a House panel on Wednesday.

He detailed “egregiously unsanitary” conditions in the Sturgis, Mich., plant to lawmakers during a hearing, but he also acknowledged that his agency’s response was too slow in addressing problems at the plant.

That effort is expected to result in the plant reopening on June 4, Jonathon Hamilton, an Abbott spokesman, said, with some formula expected to begin rolling out June 20. Officials hope new shipments will reach store shelves within six to eight weeks, although resumption of full production at the plant will take longer. nytimes.com

Dozens of Sears Closures
71 Sears stores to close permanently nationwide

A once-expansive retailer is preparing to close dozens of its locations.

At least 71 Sears Hometown stores will be shutting their doors for good in the coming weeks, according to a report from Axios. A list of closing locations was posted on a message board, TheLayoff.com, and many stores have taken to Facebook to inform customers of their impending closure.

See the full list of closures here: fox44news.com

Workers vote to become first unionized Starbucks in Alabama
Starbucks has until later this week to file objections after workers at a shop in Birmingham became the first of the company’s outlets in Alabama to vote to organize

Ulta shoppers not feeling inflation yet

Camera-Shy: What to Do About Employees Who Disengage on Zoom


Quarterly Results

Ulta Beauty Q1 comp's up 18%, net sales up 21%

American Eagle Q1 Aerie sales up 8%, A&E sales down 6%, digital sales down 6%, net revenue up 2%

Gap Q1 comp sales down 14%, store sales declined 10%, Online sales down 17%, net sales down 13%
   Old Navy Q1 comparable down 22%, net sales down 19%
   Gap Q1 Global & North America comp's both down 11%, net sales down 11%
   Banana Republic Q1 comp's up 27%, net sales up 24%
   Athleta Q1 comp's down 7%, net sales up 4%

Hibbett Q1 comp's down 18.9%, e-commerce sales up 4.1%, net sales down 16.3%
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director - Loss Prevention job posted for IAA Inc. in Westchester, IL
As our Director of Loss Prevention, you will be responsible for protecting the assets of IAA while achieving shortage and safety goals for assigned areas. Through effective Operations and Human Resources partnerships, the Director of Loss Prevention implements company-driven shortage solutions while providing regular direction and leadership to minimize operational shortages, mitigating theft and fraud, and maintain safe and secure environments at IAA. recruiting2.ultipro.com

Loss Prevention Director job posted for Rent One in St. Louis, MO
The Loss Prevention Director is on the front like of defense to identify and prevent theft of cash and merchandise. A great Loss Prevention Director is driven, has outstanding analytical skills, and isn't afraid to dig in and find the truth. This position is never boring and requires extensive travel throughout the nation's heartland. Responsible for the investigation and detection of coworker and vendor activity that would cause a loss to Company assets. shoprentone.itnhire.com
 

Last week's #1 article --

FDA details problems at plant behind recalled baby formula