Brazen Shoplifting and Traumatized Staff Impacting Company Profits: Best Buy CEO

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Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said Tuesday that theft is a growing problem in the companyโ€™s stores, and the aggressive behavior displayed by shoplifters is โ€œtraumatizingโ€ staff members, which has led to retention issues in the otherwise tight labor market.

Barry told Wall Street analysts on a conference call to discuss earnings that criminals often carry in weapons like guns or crowbars and threaten employees and customers. Consumer electronics have reported an increase in organized crime, according to the CEO.

The company has begun locking up products and hiring more security when possible. The safety of individuals will be prioritized over products, said the CEO. Locking up creates a delay in the customer experience as an employee is required to open up an enclosure each time for the customer.

โ€œThis is traumatizing for our associates and is unacceptable,โ€ Barry said on the call. โ€œWe are doing everything we can to try to create [an] as-safe-as-possible environment.โ€

A common tactic is a loosely-formed gang of criminals who burst into the store and make off with an entire shelfโ€™s worth of high-value goods, which they then resell. Barry said in an interview with CNBCโ€™s โ€œSquawk on the Streetโ€ that the crime surge has begun to hit the companyโ€™s bottom line and its ability to retain staff.

Best Buy has reported fourth-quarterly earnings below expectations although shares have gained nearly 40 percent this year despite the supply chain crisis and resulting shortages.

Itโ€™s not just Best Buy that has been affected. Other retailers like CVS Health, Neiman Marcus, Kroger, and Walgreens are also facing similar issues, with Walgreens recently closing down five stores in San Francisco because of aggressive shoplifting.

Barry mentioned that San Francisco and other parts of California were โ€œhot spotsโ€ for criminal activity but there were problematic areas in other parts of the country as well.

Byย Naveen Athrappully

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