Shoplifting & Employee Theft Case Values Soared in 2018
According to Jack L. Hayes International's 31st Annual Retail Theft Survey
Over 279,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2018 by just 20 large retailers who recovered over $114 million from these thieves, according to the 31st Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, a loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm.

“Theft case values soared in 2018 with the average shoplifting case value ($301.97) increasing 11.8%; the average dishonest employee case value ($1,361.37) increasing an amazing 30.1%; and the total average theft case value ($408.77) up 17.0%! While the retailers participating in this survey did not apprehend as many thieves as they did the previous year, they were recovering more dollars from the thieves they did apprehend,” said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International, Inc. “With the increase in dollar recoveries, retail theft overall continues to be a serious problem for retailers negatively impacting their bottom-line, which results in higher prices to consumers.”

Highlights from the annual theft survey include:

• Participants: 20 large retail companies with 13,674 stores and over $330 billion in retail sales (2018).

• Apprehensions: 279,196 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2018, down 11.8% from 2017.

• Recovery Dollars: Over $114 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2018, up 3.2% from 2017.

• Shoplifter Apprehensions: 251,051 shoplifters were apprehended in 2018, down 11.7% from 2017.

• Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: Over $75 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2018, a decrease of 1.4% from 2017.

• Employee Apprehensions: 28,145 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2018, down 12.7% from 2017.

• Employee Recovery Dollars: Over $38 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2018, up 13.5% from 2017.

• Average Case Values: Total Theft: up 17.0%; Shoplifters: up 11.8%; Dishonest Employees: up 30.1%

• Shrink: 55.0% of survey participants reported an increase in shrink in 2018, with 35.0% reporting a decrease in shrink, and another 10.0% reported shrink stayed about the same.

Full survey results are available at: http://hayesinternational.com/news/annual-retail-theft-survey/

 

Security Leadership: Women in the Spotlight
Meet nine female executives who are succeeding in security leadership roles

One was inspired by her father and grandfather, one wanted to be a police officer, and another wanted to be a teacher. Whatever path they took, and how they got there, today, they are all successful women in the security industry, with titles such as VP of Global Security, Director of Corporate Security, Chief Cyberstrategy Officer, and more.

Diane Ritchey of Security Magazine had the pleasure to speak with nine female executives who are succeeding in security leadership roles:

● Maureen Carlo, Business Development Manager, BCD Video

● Karen Frank, Director of Global Security, Pratt & Whitney

● Ashley Holmes, Governance and Compliance Manager, Delta Airlines

● Margaret J. Levine, Vice President, Corporate Security, Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

● Monica Mellas, Vice President, Global Security, Materion

● Elaine Palome, Director of Human Resources, Axis Communications, Inc.

● Julie Parrish, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, RedSeal

● Simone Petrella, Chief Cyberstrategy Officer, CyberVista

● Sabine Wiedemann, Director, Corporate Security, Daimler AG

Read profile articles on these female security leaders here: securitymagazine.com

 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces
Criminal & Civil Charges Against
CEO Of Stargate Apparel Group For Million-Dollar Customs Fraud
JOSEPH BAILEY, the CEO of a children’s apparel company headquartered in Manhattan. BAILEY was charged, in an indictment unsealed today, with participating in a years-long scheme to defraud U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) by submitting invoices to CBP that falsely understated the true value of the goods his company imported into the United States. BAILEY’s scheme resulted in the loss of over $1 million in duty revenue to the United States.

Around 2007 to i2015, BAILEY and other employees of STARGATE engaged in a scheme fraudulently to understate the value of goods imported into the United States. STARGATE purchased much of its merchandise from a manufacturer located in China. Starting shortly after STARGATE began doing business with Manufacturer-1 in 2007, BAILEY and others at STARGATE engaged in a double-invoicing scheme by which STARGATE would receive two sets of invoices from Manufacturer-1 for the same shipment of goods. One invoice, referred to as the “pay by” invoice, was significantly higher and reflected the actual price paid by STARGATE for the goods. The second invoice reflected a significantly lower price for the goods and was presented to CBP. This allowed STARGATE to pay a fraudulently lower amount of customs duties. justice.gov stargateapparel.com

Vermont: Dollar General to pay $1.7M for over-pricing errors
Dollar General is paying Vermont $1.7 million dollars as part of a settlement under the state's Consumer Protection Act. Attorney General T.J. Donovan says the company repeatedly violated consumer protection laws by advertising prices on store shelves and then charging more at the register. Donovan says there were at least 362 violations at 22 different stores. There are a total of 36 stores in Vermont.

The price differences ranged from two cents to $6. Donovan says the Vermont Food Bank will receive $100,000 of the settlement money. Donovan says Dollar General paid nearly a quarter-million dollars in administrative penalties in recent years but did not correct problems, so his office enforced the law under the Consumer Protection Act. wcax.com

Snoop Dogg-Backed Pot Co. Accused of Conning Credit Cards
Eaze, a Snoop Dogg-backed cannabis delivery company, has been accused of conning unwitting banks and credit card companies into processing payments for pot products in a lawsuit filed in California state court by a competing delivery company.

Herban Industries claims Eaze's credit card payments are illegal. The card payments are filtered through shell companies that Eaze controls and are designed to look like a payment for a more innocuous product - like dog toys or face cream - a violation of both federal and California state fraud laws, Herban says. law360.com
 

LP Foundation's 'Swing for Certification' Golf Tournament is Completely Sold Out!

Scholarship Applications Now Being Accepted

The Loss Prevention Foundation’s 2nd annual “Swing for Certification” golf tournament, being held June 10, 2019 at Coyote Hills Golf Club in Fullerton, CA, is officially sold out! The tournament is held to raise funds for the Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund and for the Bob MacLea LPQ & LPC Scholarships.

The LPF is accepting applications for the MacLea Scholarships now through September 1, 2019. The applications will require a one to two paragraph essay on how the recipient plans to use the knowledge they obtain from the course to further their career and personal development. yourlpf.org

The Zellman Group, LLC Will Demonstrate The OSINT Tool That Will Revolutionize Loss Prevention Investigations at NRF Protect 2019
The Zellman Group to Donate $1,000 to the LP Benevolent Fund

The Zellman Group, LLC will make a donation to the LP Benevolent Fund for each of the first 100 demonstrations it provides to retailers from June 12-13 at NRF Protect 2019.

Visit Booth #401 for a 5-minute demonstration of:

● OSINT Investigations: The Zellman Group are trained experts in OSINT, Social Media and Background investigation tactics.

● Civil Recovery programs help retailers recover losses and offset the cost of asset protection programs. The Zellman Group proudly provides Civil Recovery for all of North America. Read more here

Security Resources to Donate $1,000 to the Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund at 2019 NRF Protect Conference
Security Resources has announced that they will be donating $50 to The Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund for each of the first 20 people who stop by booth #730 at the NRF Protect conference and spend a few minutes learning how Security Resources can help their team.

The LP Benevolent Fund was established to provide financial assistance to surviving families who have lost a loved one while conducting the duties of the loss prevention/asset protection profession. LPBF was also established to provide financial grants to eligible participants who experience a verifiable economic hardship as a result of qualifying circumstances.

Read more here
 

On the same team: LP and IT working together to tackle retail crime
NRF PROTECT Keynote Session: Wednesday @ 3:30 pm

A panel of loss prevention and cyber security practitioners share best practices on a range of topics such as prioritization, technology deployments, risk management planning and more. In partnership with Downing & Downing.

 

Retailers continue to stock up inventory to get ahead of more tariffs
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to continue to grow this summer as retailers stock up inventory to get ahead of higher tariffs, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“With a major tariff increase already announced and the possibility that tariffs could be imposed on nearly all goods and inputs from China, retailers are continuing to stock up while they can to protect their customers as much as possible against the price increases that will follow,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. nrf.com

Mexico tariffs to hit small biz most
Main street groups are sounding off on President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariff proposals, worried about ongoing trade tensions and the impact frayed relationships may have on the companies’ bottom lines. Last week Trump threatened to put 5% tariffs on Mexican goods beginning on June 10, with gradual increases as high as 25% this year. Several small business groups have issued statements since the tariffs were proposed last week. cnbc.com

US airlines are bumping more travelers as Boeing 737 Max planes grounded
Here’s some unwelcome news to start the summer travel season: Your chances of getting bumped off your flight are on the rise. After boasting record low bumping rates, U.S. airlines in the first three months of this year denied boarding to travelers at the highest rate since 2017, according to Department of Transportation data released Wednesday. The increase was partially driven by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, which took more than 70 of the high-capacity planes out of service. cnbc.com

Walmart responds to Amazon Key with fridge deliveries
Walmart is not sitting back idly while Amazon makes deliveries inside customers’ homes and garages. This fall, Walmart will launch a pilot of InHome Delivery, a new service that brings grocery deliveries directly to a customer’s refrigerator when they are not home. Customers place an online grocery order and then select InHome Delivery and a delivery day at checkout. chainstoreage.com

Eddie Lampert’s Company to Buy the Rest of Sears Hometown, Outlet Stores

Private equity firm to acquire Barnes & Noble for $683M

FCC's robocall blocking plan may finally give you some relief

750 'Wear Orange' Events Planned Nationwide This Weekend to Protest Gun Violence


Quarterly Results

Guess Q1 comp's up 4%, revenue up 3%
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Q1 comp's up 0.8%, total net sales up 17.8%
Signet Group Q1 comp's down 1.3%, eCommerce sales up 5.3%, total sales down 3.3%
Michaels Q1 comp's down 2.9%, net sales down 5%
Kirkland's Q1 comp's down 10.7%, net sales down 9%

 

---