Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/122387
the grOwth OF theFt iNC. a global battle with organized thieVeS iS eScalating By Anna Robaton R etailers have always struggled against shoplifting. Petty theft surely remains a problem, especially in those parts of the world where poverty and joblessness are very high, but the rise of organized retail crime rings is a growing headache. inventory loss from consumer theft, including organized retail crime, cost retailers about $51.5 billion globally in 2011, up 13 percent from the year before, according to the Centre for retail research, Nottingham, england. Consumer theft was the biggest component worldwide of "shrinkage" — which also includes losses from employee theft, administrative error and vendor fraud. india leads the world in shrinkage rates as a percentage of retail sales, while North america, latin america and europe, in that order, accounted for the largest percentages of retailers victimized by organized retail crime between 2010 and 2011, according to a Centre for retail research survey of nearly 1,200 retailers across 43 countries. "shoplifting is a cyclic thing," said Brian hume, managing director of Martec M ay 2 013 / SCT 181