it's just people trying to feed their families /s
Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
31–40 of 108 posts
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#32OTOH you shouldn’t necessarily trust what corporations say about this. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shopliftin...
OTOOH, I have worked in SF for 24 years. Back then I don't think I ever saw anyone shoplift. I'm sure it happened, but I never personally witnessed it. In the last year or so, I have personally witnessed people shoplifting in various SF retail establishments probably more than 30 times. On only two occasions have I seen anyone attempt do anything to try to stop the perpetrator. In my opinion, I think the CNN article is incorrect in its assertions. Based on my personal experiences, I would say it's happening a lot and with increasing regularity. I think the people who do it should be punished.
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#33How many of these reports have to come out before the State reacts appropriately?
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is anyone truly needy enough to shoplift? I’m not sure how we would get good data but I’ve known a lot of shoplifters and none of them needed the food.
Have you, personally, ever known anyone who couldn't afford food? But you know people like that exist, right?
I was unable to afford food around 1995. I have both dated and had family members on food stamps/EBT, which will easily keep you alive in California and Washington state (don't know about the rest of the nation). I know multiple people who could afford food, but spend it on alcohol/drugs consistently and end up with very little to eat (going to food banks and such).
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#35Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is flatly untrue. There are both sophisticated and basic criminal enterprises based around stealing from places like dollar tree and selling to your corner store.
And this feels like a plot from a movie. Plausible, to a large extent, but ridiculously improbable. Do you have any references to dig into on this? I'd, sadly, expect that the majority of real "theft" in places like this are going to be wage theft.
Movies have convinced people that theft is this major, glamorous affair. It's really not, 99% of the time. People steal excavators from construction sites. People steal from themselves to defraud their insurance. Employees and managers steal from the stores they work at. Sometimes I leave the office with a dry erase in my purse. And yeah, wage theft is a major problem.
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#37[flagged]
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#38OTOH you shouldn’t necessarily trust what corporations say about this. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shopliftin...
I thought the wording of the headline ("to say...") was a nod to the others having walked back similar claims.
Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s fair though, isn’t it? That reflects the lost income potential from the shoplifting. Not just how much money it took to physically build an individual unit (and package and ship and stock it etc). Now if they never sell at MSRP, then probably a slight discount from MSRP when reporting is fair. But definitely not just the BOM cost or similar…
Isn't the income potential only lost if it causes a loss of a sale (either because it runs out of stock, or if the shoplifter would have otherwise bought it)?
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Re: Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
#40OTOH you shouldn’t necessarily trust what corporations say about this. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shopliftin...
OTOOH, I have worked in SF for 24 years. Back then I don't think I ever saw anyone shoplift. I'm sure it happened, but I never personally witnessed it. In the last year or so, I have personally witnessed people shoplifting in various SF retail establishments probably more than 30 times. On only two occasions have I seen anyone attempt do anything to try to stop the perpetrator. In my opinion, I think the CNN article…
Agree. Plus companies have an interest in downplaying the theft rates when it suits them (to encourage shoppers without fear of being surrounded by thieves etc), and other times it’s in their interest to play it up (esp when security costs are too high).