Dollar Tree Becomes Latest Retailer to Blame Theft for Profit Slump
Theft has "definitely advanced a little further than what we had anticipated"

Dollar Tree says theft is such a problem it will start locking up items or stop selling them altogether
Dollar Tree had a miserable quarter, and company management is chalking it up to a mix of factors: changing consumer demands on top of higher prices for fuel and electricity … and theft. The company's chief executive and chief financial officer homed in on that last one on a call with Wall Street analysts Thursday.

Dollar Tree CEO Richard Dreiling and CFO Jeffrey Davis blamed a surprisingly large drop in gross profit margin — tumbling to 29.8% last quarter from 32.7% a year earlier — on "shrink," the industry term for inventory losses due to theft, damages and other causes.

Davis said the company has taken steps to fix the problem, but the shrink issue is getting worse — and "definitely advanced a little further than what we had anticipated." In response, Dreiling said Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores, which the company also owns, will take more drastic measures in the coming months.

"We are now taking a very defensive approach to shrink," Dreiling told analysts Thursday. "We have several new shrink formats that we'll introduce in the back half of the year, and it goes everything from moving certain SKUs to behind the check stand. It has to do with some cases being locked up. And even to the point where we have some stores that can't keep a certain SKU on the shelf just discontinuing the item. So we have a lot of things in the works."

Dollar Tree, Dollar General and other discount stores have had longstanding theft issues, operating stores with just a handful of employees who have at times been victims of violent robberies and other crimes. Dollar Tree employees have complained about unsafe working conditions, and OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta in February criticized the company for a "continued disregard for human safety" that "suggests the company thinks profits matter more than people."

Theft has become a growing concern for retailers. Dick's Sporting Goods this week also cited theft as a primary reason why its profit plunged last quarter, even though sales rose. Retailers large and small say they are struggling to contain an escalation of store crimes — from petty shoplifting to organized sprees of large-scale thefts that clear entire shelves of products.  cbsnews.com


'Time for CEOs and CFOs to Speak Plainly' About Theft Crisis
WSJ Editorial Board: Retailers ‘Shrink’ From Plain Talk About Theft

The industry euphemism for theft disguises the rising cost of crime.

The shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker and other retailers are selling off this week as companies report lower earnings amid softer consumer spending. But retail executives are also pointing to another trend shrinking profits: Theft.

Second-quarter earnings were dented by “higher inventory shrink, organized retail crime and theft in general, an increasingly serious issue impacting many retailers,” Dick’s CEO Lauren Hobart said on an earnings call Tuesday.

Foot Locker executives likewise noted on Wednesday that inventory “shrink” has been increasing. Target CEO Brian Cornell last week said that “shrink” remained “well above the sustainable level where we expect to operate over time,” and that the company was facing “an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime.” Home Depot execs last week also flagged “pressure from shrink” on earnings. As did Walmart execs. “Shrink has increased a bit this year. It increased last year,” its CFO noted, adding that “shrink” was “uneven” across the country.

Shrink isn’t PC jargon used only by these companies. It’s an industry term that wraps in other losses such as value lost or damaged in transit. But plain language about theft, rather than the euphemism, would help the public better understand how bad criminal theft is and maybe build political support for policies that would do something about it.

Shoplifting is rife in California owing to a state law that effectively decriminalizes theft of less than $950. It’s common in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia where so-called victimless crimes are rarely enforced. Retailers in some cities now lock up items as basic as toothpaste and shampoo to prevent criminals from clearing out shelves.

Progressives ignore theft out of hostility to corporations. But mom-and-pop stores are pillaged too, and the costs of theft are borne by consumers and workers. Modern corporate culture shrinks from saying anything that might offend anyone, apparently including criminals and organized theft rings. Time for CEOs and CFOs to speak plainly. wsj.com


'Inside Edition' Airs Report on the Rise of ORC
California Retailers Association President and CEO Speaks with 'Inside Edition' About the Continued Rise of ORC
Following the NBC Nightly News segment, California Retailers Association President and CEO Rachel Michelin spoke with Inside Edition on recent, brazen Organized Retail Crime incidents in Southern California, which included a small retailer that provides wigs for cancer patients.

“It’s horrible. Retailers have invested millions of dollars in private security guards; in locking up product. What we need now is help from our elected officials. Until we have conversations to really deal with how we can solve this problem, I don’t think we will see an end.”

CalRetailers was instrumental in securing funding for ORC and the ORC task forces in the state budget last year. As part of Governor Newsom's "Real Public Safety Plan" CRA advocated for two additional CHP ORC task forces, permanent funding for all five task forces, dedicated prosecutors for each task force and millions of dollars for local law enforcement grants. CRA continues to work with the Governor, the State Legislature, local elected officials and DAs from across the state on resources and policy changes to keep retail employees and customers safe from criminal activity in stores.  insideedition.com

Soft-on-Crime Policies Turned Theft Into 'Low-Risk, High-Return' Activity
Editorial: Retail theft costs billions, it’s time to get tough
As the Herald reported, Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst estimated that local businesses are losing about $2 billion a year to “organized criminal theft activity.”

“Stores have actually closed,” he said. “You can only keep a store open for so long when you’re losing money on it.”

Big box stores such as Walmart, Target and Walgreens have lost millions to theft, with store closings in cities from San Francisco to Chicago following suit. Los Angeles retailers have suffered through smash-and-grab robberies of luxury stores in broad daylight.

Pick a city or state with unabated retail theft, and you’ll find “store closing” signs going up.

New York is lucky, Adams is taking a stand for retailers, throwing his weight behind Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to remove a provision of the state’s controversial 2019 bail reform law that requires judges to impose the “least restrictive” means of ensuring that defendants return to court.

That’s the kind of tag-team we need in Massachusetts.

“Politicians need to start taking it seriously, and everybody needs to work together,” said Hurst. “The lawmakers, the police, and the prosecutors have to work on this. They have to prosecute these bad actors who are doing this for a living, and put them behind bars.”

In 2018, the state Legislature in a bill increased the felony threshold for larceny from $250 to $1,200.

“That was a big mistake,” Hurst said. “That created low-risk, high-return criminal activity. If the individuals keep their stealing efforts per crime per store down below $1,200, then it’s a misdemeanor and DAs won’t even prosecute that misdemeanor, which is part of the problem.”

We’ve seen the impact of organized retail theft around the country, and in our own state. We want stores, and jobs, to stay here, and not have to pull up stakes because they’re ripe pickings for thieves. bostonherald.com

RELATED: NY is battling massive retail threat the right way, while California fails


'People Aren't Paying for Stuff'
"Alarming" rise in thefts hurts big retailers' bottom lines

Retailers have a problem: People aren't paying for stuff.

Why it matters: Retailers are already grappling with an uncertain economy, a shift toward spending on services, and rising labor costs — so the last thing they need is another threat to the bottom line.

Driving the news: Two major chains reported Tuesday that their earnings are suffering from consumers not ponying up, albeit in two very different ways:

• Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart said in a statement that "elevated inventory shrink" — in particular, theft — is "an increasingly serious issue impacting many retailers," and that it was a large factor in why the company's second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations.

• Macy's said it was caught off guard by the rising number of credit card customers who aren't paying their bills.

The big picture: The scale and complexity of organized theft schemes is on the rise, the National Retail Federation reported in April. In many cases, thieves are reselling items after altering expiration dates or repackaging items, Axios' Hope King reported.

Context: A slew of retailers have blamed theft for bludgeoning their bottom lines, including Target, CVS and Walgreens. "It's quite alarming what's going on," Hobart said on an earnings call Tuesday.

The impact: Dick's stock plunged 24% Tuesday after the concerns helped prompt the company to lower its earnings outlook. For Macy's, the company said it had expected more delinquencies in the rising rate environment, but it was caught off guard by "the speed at which the increase occurred for the company and the broader credit card industry" over the past three months. axios.com


48,117 Gun Deaths in America in 2022 - 1 Person Killed Every 11 Minutes
Gun deaths are up 21% since 2019 - But gun homicide rate dropped 6.8% from 2021 to 2022

CDC Provisional Data: Gun Suicides Reach All-time High in 2022, Gun Homicides Down Slightly from 2021
Newly released provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that gun death rates in 2022 remained near highs not seen since the mid-90s and, in addition, rates have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Guns remained the leading cause of death for children and teens in 2022. The rate of gun deaths among this group climbed 87% in the last decade (2013-2022). Additionally, the nation’s overall gun suicide rate increased 1.6%, reaching an all-time high, and for the first time, the gun suicide rate among Black teens surpassed the rate among white teens.

Overall gun death rate decreases, number of gun suicides reaches all-time high

According to the provisional CDC data, 48,117 people died by guns in 2022, an average of one person every 11 minutes. The overall gun death rate declined 1.9% in 2022 from 2021. While this overall decrease in the gun death rate was small in relative terms, 713 fewer people died by guns in 2022 compared to 2021. This provisional data illustrates that the 2020 spike in gun violence seen during the COVID-19 pandemic has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, including this new provisional data for 2022, gun deaths are up 21% since 2019.

The gun homicide rate decreased 6.8% in 2022, with 1,366 fewer gun homicides than 2021. Even with this decrease, 19,592 people were killed by a gun in 2022, the second-highest gun homicide rate since 1995. Although the surge in gun homicides appears to have leveled off, the 2022 gun homicide rate is still 35% higher than it was in 2019. If the gun homicide rate had remained at 2019 levels, approximately 5,000 fewer people would have been killed in 2022.

Gun suicides continued to reach all-time highs, increasing 1.6% from a previous record in 2021; 26,993 people died by gun suicide in 2022. While the increase in gun homicides has gained public awareness, less attention has been paid to the growing epidemic of gun suicides – which historically make up the majority of gun deaths. publichealth.jhu.edu


Can Music Be Used to Deter Retail Crime?
Walgreens in Memphis use classical music for crowd control

With the recent rise in crime, we have seen businesses take all kinds of preventative measures.

FOX13 has reported on stores putting up special glass and metal pylons to prevent things like smash-and-grab burglaries. Now, some stores are trying a new security measure: classical music.

At the Walgreens near Union and Pauline, classical music blasts through the parking lot all day. It is not for customers to enjoy, though; it is to make sure people do not loiter. Some customers would prefer not to hear the music.

It is played from a Skycop camera in the parking lot and is so loud, many feel they could not hold a conversation or even hear themselves think. The store’s manager said they started playing the music three months ago because there were groups of 10 to 15 people hanging around in the parking lot.

The music is intended to make staying there unpleasant and it has worked so far. The music is so loud it can be heard from across the street and at the nearby bus stop.

At least two other Walgreens locations are doing the same thing: the store at Poplar and Cleveland and the store at Union and McLean. The music has been a tough adjustment for some of the people who work and live nearby.  fox13memphis.com


Another Emerging Crime Trend in LA
Inside the ruthless crime wave targeting L.A.’s vulnerable street food vendors
In late May and early June, Tacos Los Chemas and four nearby food stands in South L.A. were targeted by armed robbers. On July 9, four more vendors in the area were struck in less than an hour. A third string of attacks occurred Aug. 16, when six mobile sellers were robbed in Echo Park, Hollywood and downtown L.A.

Food vendors say they are scared — but can’t afford to stay home from work.

The Los Angeles Police Department has assigned detectives from its elite Robbery Homicide Division to probe what Deputy Chief Kris Pitcher calls an “emerging crime trend.” In all, there have been more than 20 robberies, many of which could be connected, according to LAPD officials.

On Monday, L.A. County prosecutors charged a 26-year-old man in connection with all six Aug. 16 robberies, which occurred over a two-hour span. The investigation continues into two other suspects tied to those incidents.

Amid the crime surge, some vendors have installed safety measures, including cashless payment systems and surveillance cameras. latimes.com


Maryland AG Leads #MACoCon Session on Organized Retail Crime
As Marylanders increasingly return to Main Street for work, play, and commerce, hometown retail businesses face various challenges, including property theft and associated crime. At the MACo Summer Conference, an expert panel discussed the growing threat of organized retail crime and detailed federal, state, and local efforts to combat the spike.

Video: Retail theft won't improve until we have a solution for tracking goods
Jan Kniffen, CEO of J. Rogers Kniffen WWE, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss retailers reporting rising theft from organised crime, consumer spending trends hurting non-discretionary spending, and the tickup in credit card delinquencies.

As concerns mount about organized retail crime, these are the products being targeted

'They're brazen:' Retail theft is becoming a problem in Martin County

Another Retailer Settles with the Department of Labor
Rite Aid to develop bloodborne pathogen safety program following OSHA probe
As part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Rite Aid Corp. will develop a bloodborne pathogen safety program to better protect retail workers at all of the drugstore chain’s locations in New Jersey and New York.

The settlement announced Aug. 21 by the DOL stems from an April 2022 probe launched by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration after a retail employee at a Rite Aid store in Niagara Falls, N.Y., was instructed to clean up spilled blood following a customer injury.

While investigating, OSHA learned that before the incident the employee had not been offered a hepatitis B vaccine and that Rite Aid lacked an appropriate exposure control plan – a violation of federal regulations, the DOL said. As a result, Rite Aid was issued three citations and fined $31,360. The Philadelphia-based corporation initially contested the violations, but later struck a settlement with OSHA calling for an amended $10,000 fine and withdrawal of its notice of contest.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rite Aid is also required to take several remedial actions at its 370 New Jersey and New York stores.

OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson in New York said the settlement agreement with Rite Aid “will significantly enhance safety for many of the company’s employees in hundreds of stores in the metro-area and beyond. njbiz.com

 
The Return of Mask Mandates?
U.S. COVID-19 cases are up, mask mandates return in some places
As rising COVID-19 cases driven by variant EG.5 continued Thursday to sicken and hospitalize more people, some hospitals, universities and businesses across the United States are mandating masking again in response.

The CDC urges specific groups of high-risk people to mask, including older people, those with certain medical conditions and pregnant people. It also urges masking in areas of the country that have 20 or more people per 100,000 hospitalized with COVID-19. yahoo.com


ISC East Registration is Open! Nov. 14-16, 2023, Javits Center, NYC

CVS to layoff 5,000 of its 300,000 workers

T-Mobile USA Inc. is cutting 7% of its staff - 5,000 positions - Retail won't be impacted

Sandwich chain Subway will be sold to fast-food investor Roark Capital


Quarterly Results

Bath & Body Q2 stores down 1%, Direct down 10%, Inter. down 4%, sales down 3.6%

Dollar Tree Q2 Same-Store Sales: Dollar Tree +7.8%; Family Dollar +5.8%; Enterprise +6.9%, Consolidated net sales up 7.1%

Gap Q2 comp's down 6%, store sales down 7%, online down 11%, net sales down 8%
   Old Navy net sales down 6%
   Gap net sales down 14%
   Banana Republic net sales down 11%
   Athleta net sales down 1%

Nordstrom Q2 Nordstrom banner net sales down 10.1%, Rack down 4.1%, net sales down 8.3%
 

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Director, Security job posted for Brookfield Properties in Chicago, IL
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