In a bid to curb the escalating theft problem, Giant Food, a prominent supermarket chain in Washington DC, has announced a drastic shift in its retail strategy.
The company will cease the sale of all national brands in its health and beauty sections, opting instead to stock only its own store brands. Additionally, the company will implement a new policy requiring employees to check shoppers' receipts before they exit the store.
Giant's President, Ira Kress, expressed his concerns to the Washington Post, stating, "We want to continue to be able to serve the community, but we cant do so at the level of significant loss or risk to our associates that we have today."
Earlier this month, rumors circulated by DC News Now suggested that Giant was considering closing its Alabama Avenue location due to escalating theft and violence. Despite the company's denial of these rumors, it acknowledged that theft had cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In May, Kress announced that the company would take aggressive measures to combat crime, emphasizing that closing stores was the "last thing" he wanted to do. He lamented the crime and violence that strained the company's operations, stating, "To say [theft has] risen tenfold in the last five years would not be an understatement." He also noted a concurrent increase in violent incidents.
"The last thing I want to do is close stores," Kress reiterated, "but I've got to be able to run them safely and profitably."
Retail theft has become a nationwide issue, forcing many businesses to adopt stringent security measures or even close stores. This month, Lauren Hobart, CEO of Dicks Sporting Goods, attributed a dip in profits to "organized retail crime," despite a 3.6 percent rise in sales.
In March, Walmart announced the closure of all its Portland, Oregon locations due to rampant shoplifting. A Chicago-based Walgreens redesigned its store layout, limiting customer access to only two front aisles, with employees taking orders. Other retailers that have shuttered locations due to retail theft include Whole Foods, AT&T, Nordstrom, REI, and Cracker Barrel.
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