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Stores Have to Find Balance in ORC Battle
Retailers increasingly vexed by rising “shrink”
The National Retail Federation is out with its 2022 Retail Security Survey. And it says retail “shrink” — which includes problems like theft, gift card fraud and inventory mismanagement — accounted for nearly $95 billion worth of losses last year. That’s about $5 billion more than the year before.

Meanwhile, there’s been news that Target, Walgreens and other major retailers have closed some locations or shortened store hours because of thefts. The kind of theft that’s mostly happening isn’t run-of-the-mill shoplifting. It’s organized crime, said Mark Mathews at the National Retail Federation.

Maybe you’ve seen stories about people running into stores and grabbing items in plain sight. Mathews said thieves are usually not so dramatic and much more calculated. “They’re smart,” he said. “They’ll often steal just below the felony threshold. And they’re also aiming for certain types of products.”

People coming into stores to steal accounts for close to 40% of retail shrink. Nearly 30% is theft by employees.

“It could be theft of product. It could be outright cash theft, credit card fraud, discount products fraudulently to friends,” said Karl Langhorst, who teaches retail asset protection at the University of Cincinnati. There are plenty of ways retailers try to prevent theft: more security cameras, software that recognizes strange buying patterns, including at self-checkout.

Langhorst said the most effective method, though, is low-tech. “Let’s say it’s a clothing store, and [a shopper has] a handful of blue jeans. ‘Can I hold those for you at the register until you’re ready to check out?'” he explained.

That tells thieves that employees are engaged, which also increases perceived safety for shoppers.

Read Hayes, who directs the Loss Prevention Research Council, said relying too much on security tags and locking up products can create a hostile shopping environment. “The place can become a place that nobody wants to work, that very few want to shop in,” Hayes said.

When retailers stop selling certain products or close altogether, he said, the biggest losses are convenience for shoppers and jobs for the community. marketplace.org

Retailers Walking a Tightrope with Self-Checkout Technology
Wegmans yanking its self-checkout app because of theft reveals a fraught quandary for retailers

Retail companies are weighing the benefits of automation against the costs, with consumers’ expectations of convenience getting caught in the middle.

By now, self-checkout is old hat at all kinds of supermarkets, convenience stores, and pharmacies. Surveys show consumers’ relationship with it is very love-hate, with many presumably enjoying the ease of zipping in and out of stores without having to talk to anyone, but growing annoyed when it takes five minutes to flag down an attendant so they can buy a six-pack of beer.

Amazon has separately pioneered what it calls Just Walk Out technology, in which shoppers are effectively tracked from the moment they walk in by a network of cameras and sensors that record every item they place in their carts (or even stop and look at). Just Walk Out lets customers simply leave when they’re done shopping, and Amazon will automatically charge them for everything they grabbed.

Wegmans’ system was less invasive than Amazon’s, but perhaps at the chain’s expense. It acknowledged that users had said “they love the app and convenience it offers.” It didn’t say how much “shrinkage” had occurred, as theft and waste are euphemistically called by the industry. Data has shown shrinkage for retail establishments (due to both theft and error) is almost twice as high in self-service lanes than in traditional checkout lanes.

Wegmans also didn’t say whether it has any way of knowing if the losses were items customers stole intentionally, or items they accidentally forgot to scan—after all, this is hardly muscle memory for most grocery shoppers just yet.

The other big feature is a new line of smart carts that sound like what Wegmans probably wishes it had done: “Caper Carts” are effectively normal shopping carts tricked out with touchscreens, scales, and sensors. Customers drop in their items, which get sized up, weighed, and recorded, and then check out using the tablet connected directly to their cart’s handle. They never manually scan anything. fastcompany.com

De-Funding Police Movement's Impact in Portland
Drunk on Theft in Oregon - Liquor Thefts Up 100%+

Amid a spike in shoplifting, liquor stores in the state have become leading targets.

New data from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission show a huge surge in the shoplifting of alcohol.

In 2021 Oregon’s liquor stores reported more than 459 incidents of shoplifting, up from some 266 in 2019, according to our analysis of state data. The trend continues this year as alcohol vendors had reported some 450 shoplifting incidents by the end of July.

Portland accounts for more than half of the alcohol heists. Already this year its liquor stores have reported more than 275 shoplifting incidents by the end of July—more than the entire statewide total in 2019.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, vandals and looters broke into Portland’s Pioneer Place Mall, the Apple store, and other businesses. The state’s elected officials responded to the riots with legislation that strictly limits when police can use tear gas and other force.

Meanwhile, Portland slashed its 2021 police budget by some $27 million. The city also reduced its authorized sworn police force from 1,001 in 2019 to 882 in 2021. Frustrated with the lack of political support, officers resigned and retired in masse, and the police bureau currently has some 108 vacancies that it’s struggling to fill.

The Portland Police Bureau has had to triage its response to crime and encourages theft victims to report the crime online instead of calling 911. “I have never received a follow-up call or a visit for shoplifting,” Mr. Miner says. In Oregon, theft of goods worth less than $1,000 is a mere misdemeanor. Thieves are clearly drunk on their impunity. wsj.com

The Impact of Big City Progressives' Soft-on-Crime Policies
Perspective: Democrats’ policies on criminal justice are killing the West Coast

They ‘reimagined’ criminal justice, and the results have been disastrous for law enforcement and for cities

The reforms, championed by Black Lives Matter activists, grew out of a progressive ideology that views criminals as victims — victims of a justice system steeped in white supremacy. The effects have been disastrous, particularly on the West Coast, where a culture of lawlessness has taken hold as police departments have lost funding.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti followed through on his pledge to cut $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department budget. Violent crime — especially murders — soared. And the department was short some 500 officers in 2021, with the city now experiencing a 2022 recruitment crisis.

In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed cut $120 million from the city’s police department. Homicides increased by 17% in 2021 compared to 2020. Rape, larceny, assault and motor vehicle theft are also up according to the SFPD crime dashboard. It’s the worst possible time to have a staffing shortage; the department is down 300 officers.

Traditionally safe cities have been hit the hardest in the Pacific Northwest. Homicide rates in and around Seattle and Portland hit historic highs after their police departments were defunded.

The Seattle Police Department experienced a mass exodus, leaving the city short at least 500 officers. Staffing is so low that detectives were pulled from sexual assault cases so they could work patrol, as precincts routinely fail to reach staffing minimums.

Portland is looking for at least 100 new officers after veteran cops quit. Portland Police Association President Sgt. Aaron Schmautz blames, in part, the “180 sustained days of open rioting in 2020” by Antifa and other elements. deseret.com

'Biggest Property Crime Unit in the Region'
Tigard police’s unique unit dedicated business crime
The Tigard Police Department just might have the biggest property crime unit in the region, thanks to its unique funding source. It’s called the Commercial Crime Unit; the team consists of three detectives and one sergeant who are dedicated to fighting crime for local businesses. If you own a business in Tigard, some of your business license fees fund the positions.

The program has been in place for 14 years in Tigard and city employees say the unit’s funding structure is unique among police departments on the west coast, and possibly the nation.

And as other local police departments have, in recent years, struggled to devote resources to fight property crime, Tigard Police’s unit has expanded since it started -- their jobs, untouchable, as long as those business license fees pour in.

The detectives investigate fraud, phone scams, fake luxury goods, shoplifting and organized retail crime, among other duties. Recently, detectives showed FOX 12 some of the popular methods used by thieves, such as ATM skimmers and even a money-washing scheme that allows them to alter money.

In Tigard, police say organized retail crime is one of the biggest issues that businesses face. It’s these sorts of cases where Mace recently had a victory: A Washington County grand jury recently indicted a suspect on several aggravated theft charges, stemming from $200,000 in stolen merchandise from Target and Fred Meyer, over a period of six months.

“We have loss prevention agents from other counties that will contact us and say ‘hey, we could use your guys’ help with this.’ If we can find a business with a tie to Tigard, then we are all about it,” Mace said. msn.com

Minnesota Poll: 54% believe crime has increased the past few years

US: 97.5M Cases - 1M Dead - 94.1M Recovered
Worldwide: 618.2M Cases - 6.5M Dead - 598.1M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 796

COVID Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths

No More Private Sector COVID Vaccine Mandate in NYC
NYC Vax Mandate for Private Sector Ends Nov. 1, Stays for Public Workers
Almost six months after a newish New York City Mayor Eric Adams told people frustrated over ongoing COVID vaccine mandates to get over it, the Democrat is officially pulling the plug on the unprecedented pandemic program -- at least as far as the private sector goes. Adams announced Tuesday that the strictest-in-the-nation COVID vaccine requirements for private businesses will end on Nov. 1. But he said the same rule for municipal employees will stay.

"Our vaccinated workforce kept the city open and operating, with over 300,000 employees it was crucial to put it in place and we're keeping it in place," Adams said. "Our vaccinated workers have carried out their jobs and stepped up when the city needed them the most and we think it's imperative to send the right message and lead by example."

The mayor said lifting the COVID restrictions is intended to provide schools, parents and businesses more flexibility, but the change by no means indicates the city is pulling back on encouraging booster shots and COVID vaccinations for all. nbcnewyork.com

26.6M Remote Workers & Hybrid Work Policies Driving Higher Attendance Rates
Return-to-Workplace Uptick Closely Tied to Use of Hybrid Schedules
"Employees with the ability to work remotely are largely anticipating a hybrid office environment going forward" Gallup reported.

Atlanta; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Seattle; and Washington, D.C., lead other locations when it comes to a work-from-home lifestyle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Only about 10 percent of workers in Memphis, Tenn.; El Paso, Texas; and Wichita, Kan., perform their jobs from home.

The Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) found that organizations with policies allowing for hybrid work have a higher attendance rate than those that do not. "However, for those with hybrid working policies, attendance is far lower than expected, and at best 42 percent," according to the AWA.

Company location may play a part, too. The New York Times reports that most workers in small and midsize U.S. cities have returned to their work commute.

CEOs who want or require their employees to return to the office regularly must earn workers' willingness to commute. shrm.org

$250M COVID Fraud
Feds: 47 charged in 'brazen' $250M COVID spending fraud centered in Minnesota
Federal authorities on Tuesday charged 47 people in what they described as the country’s largest COVID-19 funding scam, alleging an elaborate operation that stole at least $250 million in federal funds meant to feed needy children but that went instead to buy cars, luxury goods, jewelry and property in the United States, Kenya and Turkey.  mprnews.org

"It’s going to be a worse year than we’ve seen in the last few years”
Said Dr. Bessey Geevarghese, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital.

Covid will be a leading cause of U.S. death indefinitely, whether or not pandemic is over

Is the Covid-19 pandemic over? The answer is more art than science

RFID Now Top LP Technology Focus - According to 2022 NRSS

The NRF's annual National Retail Security Survey (NRSS), now in its 31st year, has been the #1 research tool for retailers, solution providers and our law enforcement partners, and helps inform policymakers and the media as well.

Conducted this year with the Loss Prevention Research Council with Appriss Retail continuing it's sponsorship, there was an interesting new development that's not appeared before in any of the previous survey's and yet it topped the ranks of new strategies and technologies retailers are either implementing or planning to implement. With 38.6% (25) of the 63 retailers surveyed listing it as their top technology response to mitigating risks.

Figure 18. Retail Loss Prevention Technologies

The greatest percentage of participating retailers reported that they were implementing or planning to implement: (1) RFID systems; (2) AI-based point-of-sale (POS)/self-checkout (SCO) video analytics; (3) license plate recognition; and/or (4) self-service locking cases or lockers. These changes are understandable, given the new risks. For example, RFID has many uses throughout retail, from managing and tracking inventory in the supply chain to maintaining up-to-date in-store inventory records, or identifying and recovering stolen products.

RFID systems 38.6%
AI-based POS/SCO video analytics 29.8%
License plate recognition 19.3%
Self-service locking cases or lockers 17.5%

In many ways, these technological changes represent a shift toward more intelligence based loss prevention practices, as many of the technologies provide more data, and richer data, about offenders and loss events at stores and other facilities.

For years the retailers have been hesitant to make that investment. But with m-commerce and e-commerce competing in real-time, any out-of-stock issues have to be resolved and RFID is the clear solution. So now that the merchants see the benefit and the senior leaders see the sales and shrink improvements, RFID is finally a top priority. -Gus Downing

Platini Fashion Brand Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to Fraud & Conspiracy
L.A. clothing importer admits to skirting $6.4M in tariffs & Doing business with the Sinaloa Cartel
A Los Angeles County clothing brand and wholesale distributor, has agreed to plead guilty to submitting fake customs forms to skirt almost $6.4 million in tariffs over ten years on clothes from China. And to doing business with a woman who has ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Ghacham Inc. which does business under the “Platini” brand name, and a company executive, Mohamed Daoud Ghacham, 38, will both plead guilty. Ghacham Inc. also agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. The company admitted to doing business with Maria Tiburcia Cázares Pérez, the sister of Sinaloa cartel figure Victor Emilio Cázares Salazar, who was sentenced in 2016 to 15 years in prison for shipping tons of cocaine from producers in Colombia and Venezuela to Mexico and distributing the drugs throughout the United States.

In 2006, Cázares Pérez and Ghacham Inc. entered into a joint business venture called “Platini Jeans Cougar De Mexico Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada de Capital Variable” or Platini Mexico, proseuctors said.

With their guilty pleas, Ghacham Inc. will face a statutory maximum of a $10.5-million fine and five years’ probation, and Mohamed Ghacham will face up to five years in federal prison. latimes.com

   DOJ press release

$147M Opioid Settlement with Walmart & CVS
W.Va. announces $147M opioid settlement with CVS, Walmart
Walmart and CVS Pharmacy have settled with the state of West Virginia for a combined total of $147 million in a lawsuit over the companies’ roles in contributing to the oversupply of prescription drugs that fueled the opioid epidemic in the country’s most impacted state, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Tuesday.

Walmart and CVS were two lawsuits that were part of a larger trial that was pushed back to June of next year along with Kroger and Walgreens. Morrisey recently announced a settlement with Rite Aid for up to $30 million to resolve similar litigation.

The lawsuits allege the pharmacies’ contributions to the oversupply of prescription opioids in the state have caused “significant losses through their past and ongoing medical treatment costs, including for minors born addicted to opioids, rehabilitation costs, naloxone costs, medical examiner expenses, self-funded state insurance costs and other forms of losses to address opioid-related afflictions and loss of lives.”

It brings the total settlements by the state in opioid lawsuits to $875 million, including $296 million with manufacturers, $400 million with wholesalers and $177.5 million involving pharmacies.

Walmart agreed to a settlement of just over $65 million and CVS for $82.5 million. Morrisey said the deal with CVS includes a provision that means West Virginia can still receive money from any future national settlements that arise. kktv.com

Home Depot's Unexpected Union Effort
Home Depot workers in Philly petition to unionize, in what could be a national first
Workers at a Home Depot store in Northeast Philadelphia have filed paperwork to unionize — launching an unexpected campaign that, if successful, could mark the largest collective bargaining unit to date at any branch of the global home improvement retailer.

According to a petition filed with the National Board of Labor Relations, the unit seeks representation for 274 merchandising, specialty, and operations associates at the 4640 Roosevelt Blvd. branch under the name Home Depot Workers United.

Vincent Quiles, a store employee who identified as one of the organizing workers, told The Inquirer he delivered a petition with 103 worker signatures to the NLRB on Tuesday after a store manager refused to accept it in person. Quiles said the main concerns of the proposed union are compensation, store staffing, and working conditions, with overall concerns about upper management.

Quiles said the 274 employees listed on his petition did not reflect the number of supportive members but the potential size of the unit he was seeking to organize, which he said was based off employment figures provided by the retailer. fltimes.com

Amazon, Pfizer Among Companies Pledging to Hire 20,000 Refugees

Major U.S. companies will help integrate recent wave of Afghans and Ukrainians

Tent Partnership for Refugees, which is pressing corporations to hire refugees said Monday in NYC that the pledges reflect a growing awareness by U.S. companies that hiring refugees benefits their business. It said research shows that consumers value ethical behavior and refugees make more loyal employees.

More than 100 major U.S. companies have signed up to join the Tent Partnership network.

Major companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. have emerged as key destinations for Afghans and other refugees looking for their first job in America. U.S. companies also committed to providing training resources and internship opportunities for thousands of refugees. In total, 45 companies made announcements. wsj.com

Time to Review Workplace Romance Policies
Amid Remote Work, Romance and Risk Persist
While it’s true that many people date their coworkers and sometimes end up marrying those whom they get to know in the workplace, HR specialists say navigating workplace romance is among their toughest assignments. That’s because the issue involves weighing fairness against people’s right to privacy and the possibility of legal liability for the company if things go awry.

Indeed, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) research shows something unexpected: Even as more workers went remote, the number of workplace romances rose during the pandemic. One-third of U.S. employees are currently involved or have been romantically involved with a coworker, up from the 27 percent who reported workplace romances before the public health crisis began. So, this is a good time for business leaders to revisit their company policies on workplace romance, experts say, especially since many of those policies are lacking. asisonline.org

Gap Is Cutting 500 Corporate Jobs
The Gap job cuts follow recent corporate layoffs at other retailers, including Walmart Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., and Stitch Fix Inc. In addition, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has said it plans to shrink its corporate ranks amid a deep sales slump. wsj.com

Twilio announces 11% of employees will lose jobs in ‘Anti-Racist’ layoffs
Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson announced in a message to all employees that 11% of its workforce would be laid off, stating that they made the layoffs through an “Anti-Racist” and “Anti-Oppression” lens.

Ralph Lauren to open 250 stores in the next 3 years

Home Depot Strengthens Networks to Support Hardware Refresh


Quarterly Results

Casey's General Stores Q1 in store comp's up 6.3%, total revenue up 40%
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director Asset Protection job posted for Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin & Metropolitan Chicago in Milwaukee, WI
Develops long- and short-term business strategies (3-5 years), and oversees implementation for safety and security across all Retail Facilities. This position is also developing and implementing asset protection business plans for stores, warehouse facilities and the supply chain to prevent and detect internal and external theft. recruiting2.ultipro.com