Posted on 10/18/2021 12:10:48 PM PDT by Vendome
Walgreens announced Tuesday it would be closing five of its San Francisco locations due to "organized retail crime," but police department data, local officials, and policy experts are casting doubt on that reasoning, according to a report published by the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday.
While the report said the chain has experienced retail theft, other factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaturation of stores were cited as potential factors behind the decision to close the stores.
However, San Francisco Police Department data obtained by the Chronicle contradicts Walgreens' claims, with one of the stores slated to close reporting only 23 shoplifting incidents since 2018. Some incidents of shoplifting likely go unreported, but the closing stores had on average less than two shoplifting reports per month since 2018.
"Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco, and we are not immune to that," Caruso told SFGate. "During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed pushed back against Walgreens' stated reasoning for closing the stores.
"They are saying (shoplifting is) the primary reason, but I also think when a place is not generating revenue, and when they're saturated - SF has a lot of Walgreens locations all over the city - so I do think that there are other factors that come into play," she told reporters last week.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Its their business. They can close stores if they want.
Or is Commiefornia so far gone that even that is up to the gubmint?
“but the closing stores had on average less than two shoplifting reports per month since 2018”
In SF robbery is only a crime if you do it more than twice in a month. But if you do it 3 times in a month, you get a stern warning.
“experts” What experts?
Experts on why stores close? How does ont become expert at figuring that out.
FWIW, I think the reason is valid.
You can’t stay in business if you’re constantly being robbed. It’s financially a disaster. Nobody goes into business to lose everything and go into debt just as a service to the community.
Hey London! If Walgreens saw fit to close stores in your shitty little, rat infested (two legged kind) town so will others in coming months. Your just whining about the tip of the ice berg.
I never heard that but I like it.
And the mayor of SF knows why the stores are closing. It’s the OWNER of the stores who doesn’t know why the stores are closing. Politicians are so much smarter than the people they feed off of.
The first time I heard that expression was in a UK comedy episode of “Yes Minister”!
If experts said it, it must be true.
I’m sure they know Walgreen’s business better than Walgreen’s.
Nah, I’ve seen enough videos to tell me who’s telling the
truth here.
They’re now down for covering the asses of criminals now.
“Oh, they didn’t cause this.” Bull stuff.
Let’s go Biden... and his ilk.
My guess is that whoever made the decision to close the stores is bright enough to realize that if they close the stores where the major shoplifting is happening, the thieves will move to the other stores they decided to close. No sense in waiting for the inevitable to occur.
I live in San Francisco I have seen 3 of the garbage bag robberies in my Walgreen’s and one backpack robbery.
My longtime friend the business mgr. says they no longer reort the police do not come out to the store or do any investigation
Yes, you’re probably right😿
These probably being the other "journalists" in the newsroom, shooting the breeze at the water cooler.
My dear and late friend Dr. Walter Williams wrote his PhD dissertation on this very topic of ghetto petty crime and the impact on small retail operations. It makes for some fascinating reading, especially disusing the loss of retail space in a small shop due to the necessities of theft prevention security measures. If you can did up the dissertation you should give it a read. Very enlightening.
disusing = discussing
I hate compewders
“... but I also think when a place is not generating revenue,...”
Because of shoplifting.
Dean Preston...said the pharmacy chain is “abandoning the community” and has “long planned to close stores,”
My brother-in-law was long-time employee of Walgreens in San Francisco, until retiring last year due to safety concerns. He often spoke about the daily shoplifting at Walgreens stores and how management did nothing. Employees long ago gave up reporting the shoplifting unless employees were assaulted and beaten. B-i-l got punched in the face a couple times; that's a reason to report a crime. But shoplifting, no reporting.
“If it is not a crime for anything under $950 to be stolen, then why would they report it and how could they?”
Exactly, the still need SFPD when there are holdups and shootings. Calling in now-legal shoplifting will get them on really bad terms with the cops.
I forget where it was but a couple years ago stores in some city started putting everything behind the counter and you had to ask the cashier for it and they passed it to you using a tray AFTER you had paid.
The city passed an ordinance that the cashier could NOT be behind bullet-resistant glass as that was not fair!?!?
I kid you not....
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