Posted on 05/31/2023 3:13:11 PM PDT by Twotone
President of Giant Food, Ira Kress, has lamented the rise in shoplifting and violence, which has put a strain on the company's ability to do business in recent years.
Kress said that the chain of over 150 supermarkets in the eastern United States would be taking aggressive steps to combat crime and made it clear that closing stores is the "last thing" he wants to do.
"To say [theft has] risen tenfold in the last five years would not be an understatement," Kress said in an interview with the Washington Post, noting that violent incidents have also "increased exponentially" in the same time period.
He explained that while many of the actions the company has taken to deter shoplifters have added hassle to customers' experience, "the alternative is worse."
"The last thing I want to do is close stores," Kress added, "but I've got to be able to run them safely and profitably."
According to Kress, shoplifting has "continued to escalate" to a point where he can no longer predict exactly what thieves might be after. He noted that perpetrators appear to be going after anything they can get their hands on, from food to cosmetics, and household goods.
He reminisced about the days when an employee could simply chase a shoplifter and get the product back without worrying about them "pulling a knife or gun."
As The Washington Post reports, measures taken to deter theft have included closing certain entrances to restrict the flow of traffic in and out of the store, moving higher-priced items behind protective barriers, and stocking cheaper items on the shelves.
Giant Food is not the only American supermarket chain seeing an increase in theft and violent incidents, and many have taken measures to ensure products and customers are safe.
Whole Foods, for example, went so far as to close stores in San Francisco after safety concerns became too overwhelming.
Desertification in process.
How about the stores band together and prohibit entry for shopping for anyone from the prosecutors office?
People of color don't buy whole salmon, a whole NY Strip, cases of produce, etc.... so I get really good deals when I ask for them. I just have to not steal and be courteous. Salmon going for $9 a pound I get for $3. If I buy a whole NY Strip it goes from $12.99 a pound to $4 a pound.
I was shopping in a Giant grocery store in PA several years ago. Went into the bathroom. A homeless looking guy was brushing his teeth with toothpaste and a toothbrush he had obviously taken from the store. I reported it to a manager in the store, who shrugged it off, saying something like, “The guy is homeless and its ok with us.” I simply walked away, amazed at his generosity with other people’s money.
Relocate the supermarket to the nearest prison grounds. Hire prisoners with the understanding that the losses of any shoplifted items will be deducted from the prisoners’ commissary fund.
Dollar General has a profitable metric for new store locations.
Most times they’re in rural areas with very low or no crime.
I’m happy to have moved to a small rural town in W. TN, where a trip to the store is pretty much like the 1950’s.
Are the Giant Food Stores in PA the same company as the ones in MD, DE and VA? They have different logos. The photo in the article shows the PA store logo.
OMG!
I have so much I can say on this. This is our prime store and I’ve been highly irritated the last few weeks alone how they are acquiescing to thieves by hobbling us legitimate customers.
BTW, the photo is WRONG and a DC paper should know that.
Unfortunately there are 3 food chains in the MD-PA area that all use the name “Giant”, but that photo is not my MD store.
The photo is wrong. It is MY home state chain in MD.
I agree.
I am a major customer of this chain, and their pathetic reactions to this anger me.
But, I also get they are hobbled as are all of us to do anything. “Justice” has been twisted to mean never hurt the thugs and thieves. If anyone does anything you’re doomed.
It is the fault of the commie Dem system that favors thugs, mostly because they’re inevitably black.
Where are you located?
1 - 3%. They depend on volume to stay afloat. That’s why they’re so huge usually. Attack the volume enough and they can’t stay open.
eventually, all brick and mortar retail stores that don’t want to pull out of the inner cities will have to institute membership shopping like costco and sams wholesale clubs where paid membership cards are checked upon entering and receipts checked upon exit ... if that doesn’t help, then entrance and exit mantraps will also have to instituted like those used for entry and exit to high-end jewelery stores ...
Lancaster County. Outside the city.
Liquor stores thrive in those same neighborhoods. Maybe the key is small stores, lots of security, big black gates and bars on all the windows...
Or better - a system of free memberships... anyone caught stealing loses their membership... forever.
Entry card with credit card/ checking account attached for scanned entry. No other entry allowed.
Cart inspection at exit.
Is it that much different than Costco, Sam’s or BJ’s?
“What do you mean when you say “allow no-penalty shoplifting. What do you expect them to do? Send the cashiers out to wrestle the shoplifters to the ground and get shot over a tray of steaks?”
“Unless they shoplifter has taken enough stuff to constitute a felony no state’s attorney will prosecute.”
I don’t expect the store to enforce the law. I would expect local law enforcement to enforce it. That’s what I mean by no-penalty. Things weren’t always like this. The criminals have been given the go ahead by dim run cities that decided police and actual laws were the problem.
You remind me that the larger stores in my area have an adjacent area to sell liquor and the profits on that part of the stores are probably much higher than the grocery parts of the stores.
Politics aside, PA is a beautiful state, and my mother was born in Minersville. I hope a wide support community.
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