Crime remains top issue for Walmart, retail executives

Retailers can’t solve growing organized retail crime alone, Walmart executives say. 

The problem is getting worse with shopping center giant Westfield confirming it’s leaving the San Francisco Centre mall amid rampant crime problems.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told FOX Business during an interview at Walmart’s Shareholder Week in Arkansas last month the company needs help solving this issue, which is now costing the industry $94.5 billion in losses. Inventory losses combined with the measures taken to combat this issue, such as extra security, could bump up prices across the retail sector, Walmart has warned. 

“We do need help from others to solve this issue. Retailers alone can’t solve it,” McMillon said, adding “a combination of things that’ll have to happen for that to occur.”

KOHL’S, FOOT LOCKER, TARGET, WALMART SAY BRAZEN RETAIL THEFT WORSENING 

The head of Walmart U.S., John Furner, reiterated this sentiment, telling National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay at NRF Protect 2023 last week the solution needs to be a “combination of talent, tools, technology and coalitions of industry, society and government all working together.

“There isn’t a single group, in my opinion, that can solve this on their own.”  

ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME IS GROWING IN ‘SCOPE AND COMPLEXITY,’ NRF SAYS

David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations for the National Retail Federation (NRF), agrees. Johnston told FOX Business retailers are only part of the equation. 

“We have to take a really good look at what got us here. And there are a lot of things that got us to this point, some of them inclusive of individual states making changes to how they react to shoplifting,” Johnston said. 

He noted that some states have raised the monetary threshold that would bring about a felony charge.

In some states, if it falls under a misdemeanor crime like shoplifting, offenders may only be served a citation, which is a notice to appear in court, he said. 

“It can’t be open season for individuals to go in and steal what they want and have no penalty,” Johnston added. 

He also has concerns about a bill recently passed by the California state Senate, Bill 553, which prohibits employers “from maintaining policies that require employees to confront active shooters or suspected shoplifters.” 

The intent of the bill is to ensure safety for employees, Johnston said. But he argued the way it’s written appears to prevent any employee, including loss prevention or security-trained employees from apprehending shoplifters, he continued. 

“Our concern is if this law passes as it is, then you’ve just announced to all the shoplifters in California … you’re good to go,” he said. 

Johnson said the first step is to evaluate current laws “to ensure they properly protect against the organized retail crime we are seeing across the county. There needs to be appropriate consequences to those who are stealing for financial gain and supporting [organized retail crime].”  

He added that online marketplaces over recent years have also made it easier to sell stolen merchandise. However, the INFORM Act, requiring online marketplaces to verify seller information and provide more visibility of sellers to buyers, was passed in December with the goal of making it more difficult to sell stolen merchandise online.   

The NRF is also pushing for the passage of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate in January and would create a coordinated multi-agency response and new tools to tackle evolving trends in organized retail theft.