NRF PROTECT 2023

Theft, Cybersecurity & Store Safety Hot Topics at NRF PROTECT 2023
NRF Protect helps fashion retailers tackle cybersecurity

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is bringing the retail industry together to discuss loss prevention, asset protection, digital fraud and cybersecurity.

NRF Protect, which is taking place at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas and is aimed at tackling cybersecurity threats. The three-day event addresses retailers' concerns over protecting inventory from shoplifters, data from website hacks, and customers and employees from harm.

The speakers include industry experts from fashion and retail backgrounds with an array of sessions, including a keynote session with Walmart US president and CEO John Furner.

NRF explains: "You'll connect with brands that are facing the same challenges as you and learn vital insights on how to meet those challenges, so you can stay a step ahead of any threat. NRF Protect gives you a unique perspective because we are the only conference that brings together retail professionals from the loss prevention, asset protection, cybersecurity and digital fraud communities."

NRF Protect attendees on last year's event

James Cosseboom, LPC, director, asset protection, retail business services, an Ahold Delhaize USA company shares: "NRF Protect is an opportunity to hear from and network with colleagues from across a variety of retail verticals. Whether or not those retailers are in the same vertical as my company, many of the challenges are the same so I am able to always take away thoughts or ideas that I can apply to my company."

Megan Curtis, executive director of global asset protection and safety at Walt Disney Company adds: "Participation in the NRF's Protect conference provides retail risk and asset protection professionals with the opportunity to network, benchmark and learn from industry peers and leaders, as well as established, and/or build upon law enforcement Fusion Center partnerships. NRF Protect's Expo floor showcases third-party vendor engagement opportunities essential to supporting the ever-changing retail risk landscape."

NRF points out the event is also a platform for professionals to unite, share ideas and advance the future of retail security.

The complete agenda of NRF Protect (5-7 June) can be accessed here. just-style.com


Sensormatic Solutions by Johnson Controls unveils new AM sheet labels at NRF PROTECT 2023, offering enhanced merchandise protection for metal products

• New AM metal sheet labels designed to help safeguard high-risk products like baby formula and paint cans, can help retailers mitigate shrink while reducing friction for shoppers

• An expansion of the magnetic InFuzion hard tag family and a magnetic, 2-tone alarming boot wrap tag are also on display at NRF Protect 2023

NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland-June 5, 2023-Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, recently introduced a new acousto-magnetic (AM) metal label designed to protect high-risk products like cookware, canned foods, power tools, and more. The new labels will be on display at NRF PROTECT 2023, booth 409, alongside an expanded portfolio of other merchandise protection options.

"With shrink growing, securing high-risk and hard-to-protect products without impacting customer experiences will be key to ongoing success," said Craig Szklany, vice president and product general manager for loss prevention and liability at Sensormatic Solutions. "Our new AM metal sheet label will help retailers safeguard previously vulnerable items with more precision while eliminating the friction that comes with locked cases and other physical barriers."

Read more here


In Case You Missed It
ADT Commercial unveils new Everon customer engagement platform
at NRF PROTECT

ADT Commercial rebrands eSuite customer engagement experience to Everon, with new, action-driven dashboards that bring critical activity to the forefront

ADT Commercial, a leading security integrator and premier provider of commercial security, fire, life safety, and guarding services in the U.S., today launched the redesign, rebrand and user experience transformation of its customer engagement platform to Everon (formerly eSuite).

The development of the modernized Everon platform was driven by years of direct customer feedback to provide a more intuitive, user-friendly experience that boasts a host of new features, system efficiencies, mobile responsiveness and supportive, self-service functions.

Read more in the Vendor Spotlight column below
 

The Great Debate Over How Retail Associates Should Deal With Thieves

New Legislation to Ban Retail Staff from Stopping Thieves
Store bosses call it an 'open invitation for thieves to come in and steal'

Bill to Stop Employees Confronting Shoplifters Passed by California Senate
Lawmakers in California are hoping to push through controversial legislation that would ban retail staff from stopping thieves stealing from their stores.

Senate Bill 553, which was submitted by Senator Dave Cortese, has been passed by the State Senate and will now progress to policy committees in the State Assembly. Cortese hopes the proposed law will prevent workplace violence and protect staff from being forced by their employers to step-in during robberies. But some store bosses are furious about the plans, with the California Retailers Association mocking the move as an open invitation for thieves "to come in and steal."

The political wrangling in California comes just weeks after Home Depot security guard Blake Mohs, 26, was shot to death during an attempted robbery in Pleasanton, California. Other cities in the state are also facing their own problems as they attempt to deal with lawlessness.

San Francisco has been gripped by a crimewave that has seen Whole Foods close its downtown location after just a year of business, with bosses saying they were unable to "ensure the safety" of their staff in the city. Nordstrom followed suit by leaving the city this month, but many smaller businesses have had no choice but to remain, despite attacks on their premises.

The proposed new laws come as stores have blamed shoplifting for hitting their businesses, with Target issuing a statement in November blaming "organized retail crime" for an eye-watering $400 million loss in its profits in 2022.

The California bill, if enacted in law, would require employers to provide active-shooter training to workers, keep a log of any violent incidents, and allow companies to apply for workplace violence restraining orders.

But Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, told Fox 2/KTVU: "This bill goes way too far, number one, where I think it will open the doors even wider for people to come in and steal from our stores." newsweek.com


Firing Employees Who Intervene During Shoplifting Incidents
Lululemon CEO stands by decision to sack staff for chasing thieves out of a store-and would do it again in the name of safety: 'It's only merchandise'

Two staff members at Lululemon were fired for intervening during a shoplifting incident-with the company's CEO standing firm on the controversial policy.

Last week staffers at the Peachtree Corners Lululemon near Atlanta had their employment terminated for confronting three masked robbers and video-recording the incident. The two women, Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers, told news outlets they were aware of the policy and had been let go without severance.

Despite outrage online from fans and critics of the brand alike-who suggested the staffers should have been given a warning instead of losing their jobs-Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald has doubled down on the policy.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators on around engaging during a theft," McDonald said. "Educators" are what Lululemon calls its store workers.

"Why? Because we put the safety of our team and of our guests front and center. It's only merchandise at the end; they're trained to step back, let the theft occur, know that there's technology and cameras and we're working with law enforcement.

"Unfortunately, in this situation the educators knowingly broke the policy, engaged with the thieves across multiple points-including following them out of the store-so post investigation and the zero-tolerance policy, which is well known, that was what resulted in the termination."

"We train them to step back. It's about their safety, and we take that policy seriously because we've had instances-and we've seen in other retailers instances-where employees step in and are hurt or worse, killed."

"The policy is to protect [staff and customers], but we have to stand behind the policy to enforce it, and that was unfortunately the situation in this store," McDonald added. fortune.com


Retail Workers 'Scared to Go to Work' Amid Violence Surge
National news outlets putting the spotlight on retail workers grappling with violence

'Organized Retail Crime Is Definitely a Thing'

Shop clerks should not have to develop elite crime-fighting skills.

Shoplifting is of course a vicious and destructive crime against the owners of retail stores. But perhaps not enough attention has been paid to the toll it takes on retail workers who must try to perform their demanding jobs in cities where politicians have decided to tolerate such lawlessness.

MarketWatch columnist James Rogers writes:

Half of retail and grocery workers witnessed a theft or attempted theft in their stores from October 2022 through mid-April 2023, according to research from learning provider Axonify...

Retail and grocery associates are also seeing "a notable increase" in hostile and violent situations... Over 20% of the respondents to Axonify's survey don't feel prepared to handle situations involving theft and 40% said they feel scared to go to work. Over a quarter of the workers surveyed said they have ignored a theft or attempted theft.

Some news consumers might have laughed to keep from crying about the San Francisco shoplifter who displayed so little fear of punishment that in 2021 he felt comfortable giving a television interview about how easy it was to steal from one of the city's grocery stores. The appalling failures of local officials that enable such lawlessness put everyone at risk and can put clerks into nearly impossible situations.

UBS analyst Mark Carden raised the issue with BJ's Wholesale CEO Bob Eddy on the company's recent earnings call. Here's an excerpt:

Mr. Eddy: ... let me start by saying organized retail crime is definitely a thing, and we see it in our business. As I talk to my counterparts across the retail industry, they are definitely seeing it in their businesses. ... It is a much more pointed problem in certain places, particularly on the West Coast or places like Chicago or Albuquerque that have blue state or local blue governments that don't really feel like prosecuting crime.

Let's hope that politicians in every market prioritize public safety so that workers in retail and every other industry don't have to fear the simple and virtuous act of going to work. wsj.com


San Francisco is 'Worse Than Afghanistan'
Immigrant store owner begs city for help amid theft epidemic

"At least in Afghanistan the Taliban will cut your hand off and people are afraid to commit such a crime."

A San Francisco store owner who immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan recently claimed that crime in the city is worse than in Afghanistan after violent criminals robbed his tobacco shop, stealing more than $100,000 in merchandise.

The Afghan immigrant slammed San Francisco's progressive policies that prevent criminals from being held accountable. "They know the police won't do anything," Zaid explained, revealing that the robbers were inside his store for 20 minutes before police were able to respond.

Police told Zaid that the long-response time was due to the department's staffing crisis, the outlet reports. "We have drugs issue, we have homeless issue, and on top of this these idiots come in here and take whatever they want," Zaid said, who opened his store in 2003 after immigrating to the US from Afghanistan in 1987.

According to Zaid, the city is seeing a mass exodus of both people and businesses due to its increased criminal nature. Zaid says he might soon be the next owner to close up shop.

Zaid closing down his tobacco shop would add to the growing list of businesses in San Francisco that have decided to permanently shutter their doors due to the city's vast increase in crime, rampant retail theft, open-air drug use, violent attacks carried out by homeless vagrants, and loss of foot traffic.

In recent months, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, T-Mobile, Walgreens, Saks OFF 5th, and Old Navy all have announced their departures from the once-beloved city.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has publicly claimed that the mass exodus of businesses in the city is not due to the increase in crime, but rather the changing directory between retailers and consumers.  thepostmillennial.com


Retailers Get Creative in the Battle Against ORC
Organized retail theft pushing stores to creative safety measures
Retailers have lost billions -- with shoplifting and organized retail largely to blame. Some businesses are redesigning their stores to reduce crime and help save their bottom line.

According to CWB Chicago, Walgreens there only has two aisles of touchable merchandise, with things like snacks. For everything else, customers have to plan an order at a digital kiosk or on the app and pick it up at a counter.

The Washington Post reported Giant Food has hired security guards, limited self-checkout to 20 things, and is also securing certain items in their grocery stores.

In San Francisco, the city's largest Whole Foods, a Nordstrom, and Old Navy's flagship store have all closed.

"Well, unfortunately, these types of situations where stores are either locking up most of their merchandise or just leaving communities altogether is not uncommon," said Zack Smith, who is a legal fellow and manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program in the Heritage Foundation's Meese Center."

Smith said laws critics call soft-on-crime are to blame.

"And so if the people who physically go into the stores and steal the merchandise feel like there aren't going to be consequences for their actions, or the consequences are only going to be relatively minor for them, then at that point, the reward outweighs any potential risks they may face," he said. "It makes it much easier for these large retail rings to recruit people to be part of their organization."

In 2021, retailers lost $94.5 billion to shoplifting. That's up from $90.8 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation's 2022 National Retail Security Survey.

"Nobody is in favor of throwing every shoplifter in jail but we definitely are in favor of breaking up rings and making it clear that if you participate in these rings you're gonna be prosecuted," Stephanie Martz, the NRF's chief administrative officer and general counsel, said. "If you're getting to the point where it is literally unprofitable to have a store open, there's only so long you can justify keeping that store open."

On June 27, online markets must be in compliance with the INFORM Consumers Act. The new law requires more transparency from high-volume, third-party sellers online. Retailers hope it will help with the fight to stop organized retail crime. wwmt.com


'It is OK to Steal in Colorado'
Opinion: Why are we making it easier for shoplifters?
Public and private interests in the Centennial State want people to know that "It is OK to steal in Colorado," writes George Brauchler, a prosecutor there. Theft there remains a low- or no-bond charge and is always probation-eligible no matter the size of the theft.

Employers are not helping the problem when they adopt policies letting shoplifters walk out the door with their loot without involving any store security. A Kroger store in Colorado fired several employees for trying to stop thieves. Those employees apparently tarnished the store's image of always providing positive customer service.

I know of a grocery store here in Utah where a shoplifter is regularly allowed to steal from the store. One day when the warm wrapped food item he was looking for was not available at the hot bar, he made a big fuss about employees not doing their job.

Is this really the best we can do to prevent criminal behavior in the Mountain West?  news.yahoo.com


Cargo Theft Up 41%
Cargo theft becoming major problem
Cargo theft and fraud is soaring. Theft prevention firm CargoNet says theft was up 41% in the first 20 weeks of 2023 compared with last year. One type of scam that has become especially popular with criminals is known as shipment misdirection. Fictitious pickup crimes are also soaring. Fictitious pickup groups have shown a preference for shipments of soda and energy drinks, alcoholic beverages, solar panels, and vehicle accessories.  newsbreak.com


Has violent crime increased in Minnesota in recent years?
After declining in 2018 and 2019, violent crime in Minnesota increased 17.2% in 2020 and 21.6% in 2021, according to Minnesota Department of Public Safety's 2021 statewide crime report.

Akron, OH: Mayor calls on community partners to help city reduce violent crimes by young people

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