Former Home Depot CEO ‘fears’ Biden administration is ‘fueling a lawless society’ as retail left surges

One former industry CEO is calling out the Biden administration for “fueling a lawless society” as rising theft and crime leave retailers struggling across the country. 

“This environment under this administration is fueling a lawless society and we’ve got to get this back under control. I fear where this is headed,” former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli said on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” Friday. 

Nordstrom is just one of the latest retailers to show how rising crime is impacting their bottom line. 

On Thursday, the upscale department store reported sales fell 7.9% in the second quarter and expects a revenue decline for the year.

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Other retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, Foot Locker, Target and Walmart have seen a surge in theft impacting sales. Some of these executives warned earlier this year of an increase in “shrink” and its effect on business.

Nardelli went on to explain what a “shrink” in sales means and why it is really the cost of theft. 

“You just look at the list of retail companies, whether it’s Home Depot, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Dick’s and then you look at Target, they’re now projecting $1.2 billion, again, the polite word is shrink. The reality is its theft,” he told host Neil Cavuto. 

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The crime problem is only furthering the pain of inflation felt by American consumers. 

“Who’s going to pay for all this? Somebody’s got to pay. It’s you and I and the average consumer are going to pay higher prices for goods to offset the cost of people stealing,” Nardelli said. 

Earlier this month, the July consumer price index (CPI) showed inflation rose 0.2% from the previous month, in line with estimates. 

Prices climbed 3.2% from the same time last year, up from 3% in June but slightly below the 3.3% forecast from Refinitiv economists. It marked the first acceleration in the headline figure in more than a year, underscoring the challenge in taming high inflation.

On “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” last week, former Toys “R” Us CEO Gerald Storch outlined how various reports from retailers indicate a change in consumer behavior. 

“Every report we hear from retailers out there is that consumers are stressed, they’re reluctant to buy goods. They are spending money on services still, some of that pandemic revenge, but when you adjust for inflation, sales of physical products are actually down for 11 straight months,” Storch said. 

Storch also warned retailers should expect further difficultly moving into the holiday shopping season. 

“When that comes this fall, I believe it’s going to be a very difficult holiday season, certainly challenging for most retailers,” he said. 

Nardelli added that the growth in crime is also costing retailers more than profits. 

“Not only crime, but unfortunately, Home Depot lost two associates. They pushed an elderly man to the floor. He died. A security guard, shot,” he shared.

With crime impacting communities across the nation, Nardelli emphasized the importance of getting the current “lawless” society back under control.

FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.