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Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to say shoplifting is squeezing margins
- local_issues 3y ago[flagged]
- za3faran 3y agoI'll assume you're being serious with your comment. Shariah has conditions for when Hudud penalties are to be applied. Just because someone stole does not mean the harshest punishment automatically applies. There are factors such as adulthood, not being in a famine, the value stolen being over a certain amount (approx 1gm of gold), and so on. An investigation is conducted and the judge rules. This is not to say that other punishments cannot apply for those other cases - there's something called Ta'zeer that can be applied. Of course we're not making small of the matter, theft is a very very serious crime, and we'd have a lot less of it if Hudud were applied ;) Other than that I agree that Shariah would set today's world straight back in place.
- bitcharmer 3y ago[flagged]
- local_issues 3y agoThanks for this - learned a bunch. Also good to see others worried about this stuff instead of pretending it’s all great
- h2odragon 3y agoIf you're stealing from Dollar Tree, you're either truly needy or just in it for the thrill of being antisocial. Their stuff hasn't got any value in the store, much less fenced.
- orionblastar 3y agoIt is for the thrill of it. For experience only. If caught the amount of merchandise is small.
- PhasmaFelis 3y agoUntil you do it enough times that it adds up to a felony amount. That's when they'll go to the police with the security footage they've been collecting on you the whole time. That's how they do it these days. They know you're stealing. They don't care about giving you a slap on the wrist. They want to put you in prison.
- Ekaros 3y agoWouldn't increase of punishment make it better. Risking it all for that moment of thrill. Couple years is prison surely would up the thrill to max.
- op00to 3y agoThis 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.
- tehwebguy 3y agoI don't get it, if Dollar Tree sells basically everything for $1.25 the wholesale cost must be so low that corner stores have basically no room to save money by buying stolen goods. Anyway, if there are really criminal enterprises doing this it seems like it would take marginal investigative work to uncover and nail down.
- spiderice 3y agoYeah GP really needs a source for their claim. They’re basically saying that criminal organizations can steal incredibly cheap trinkets and sell them below cost… apparently at volume. Seems ridiculously unlikely.
- alphanullmeric 3y ago[flagged]
- ZanyProgrammer 3y agoOTOH you shouldn’t necessarily trust what corporations say about this. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting-retail/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shopliftin...
- chriscjcj 3y agoOTOOH, 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.
- yardstick 3y agoAgree. 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).
- koolba 3y agoThere’s second order effects as well. When the law abiding witnesses theft, particularly repeated theft, they associate the location with a lack of law and order. If they’re going to steal, what other laws are they willing to break? Do I feel physically safe here? This has a cascading effect where the law abiding will consciously avoid the locations where these thefts happen, causing even more of them relative to the legitimate customers entering the store. It’s a vicious cycle. > I think the people who do it should be punished. It’s really that simple.
- mushbino 3y agoWalgreens made $32 billion in profit last year and they announced all of these store closings about 4 years ago. They're looking to change business models, but it's easier to blame store closures on shoplifting to save face for leaving communities. They have acknowledged this in city council hearings.
- nimbius 3y agoCasual reminder shoplifting figures report the msrp value of goods stolen, not the cost to the company itself. Discount the figure by about 300%.
- yardstick 3y agoThat’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…
- Cpoll 3y agoIsn'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)?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- grubbs 3y agoIs it though? When I share a song on a public BitTorrent tracker and get caught. Should each infringement be worth six figures?
- yardstick 3y agoThis is about stealing something physical, not bittorenting a song. Eg an Apple laptop has a cost to build (cost being money, materials, time). If Apple sold that laptop at $2k, I don’t think they would value the loss at six figures. Given how little Apple discounts things, they probably value the loss (fairly) around the MSRP or ~10% or that.
- HillRat 3y agoNope, because shrinkage is an expense against inventory in the accounting books; fundamentally, it's a "tax" on your COGS to get to your revenue. Overreporting losses is just a bit of financial kabuki to shift underperformance over to something other than executive leadership.
- amateuring 3y agoit's just people trying to feed their families /s
- joemazerino 3y agoHow many of these reports have to come out before the State reacts appropriately?
- phone8675309 3y agoWhat would you have the state do?
- ibejoeb 3y agoThe state, using its various powers such as monopoly on use of force, could: 1. Intervene and prevent the loss 2. Prosecute perpetrators of theft as a deterrent
- phone8675309 3y agoWhy do you think they aren't doing 1 and/or 2 currently?
- balderdash 3y agohttps://nypost.com/2022/07/14/nyc-serial-shoplifter-lorenzo-mclucas-busted-for-129th-time/ https://nypost.com/2022/07/14/nyc-serial-shoplifter-lorenzo-...
- phone8675309 3y agoClearly they arrested and intend to prosecute him or he wouldn't have been in jail after having been arrested and charged.
- PhasmaFelis 3y ago> Intervene and prevent the loss You think the government should be responsible for placing security guards in private businesses? Is that where you want your tax money to go?
- 3y ago
- tejtm 3y agoIf you exist to squeeze the margin do not be surprised when the margin squeezes back.
- mycall 3y agoIf retailers really want brick and mortar style shopping, go back to trading post style. Take orders at the front, they pay, wait for the goods to be neatly packaged for them, then leave with goods. It halts all shoplifting and people can have the same selections.
- AnimalMuppet 3y agoThat's going to result in needing more employees. When the cost of the shoplifting exceeds the cost of the employees, some companies will probably do that.
- PhasmaFelis 3y agoA major advantage of brick-and-mortar is that you can browse and look at things up close. Lose that, and there's very little reason left not to shop online.
- jsbisviewtiful 3y agoPretty sure I’ve seen at least a few articles saying Dollar Tree and or Family Dollar ruin neighborhoods all in the name of profit. Serves them right.
- jsbisviewtiful 3y agoYep wasn’t hard to find several articles explaining why. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/19/business/dollar-general-opposition/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/19/business/dollar-general-oppos...
- xtiansimon 3y agoStealing from Dollar Tree is $#!tying where you eat.