nized Theft is Big Business // (John Hinderaker).

Target Corporation today reported its third-quarter results. Target stores are being robbed all the time. This is why the report was not good.

Target stores are being looted and it’s taking a big bite out of profits.

On a conference call to discuss third quarter earnings results, the discount retailer stated that inventory shrinkage (or the disappearance of merchandise) has reduced its gross margin by $400m so far in 2022 as compared to 2021.

Target stated that it expected “shrinkage to exceed $600 million” for the entire year. What’s the deal?

After the call, a Target spokesperson said via email that Yahoo Finance had confirmed that the shrinkage was mainly due to “organized retail criminality.”

Organized retail crime occurs when many criminals raid a store to steal it. Most store employees are told to stay away from the looting area and police rarely intervene. California has legalized theft up to $950. It is a misdemeanor which means that it is rarely prosecuted. Major retail chains closed their stores in San Francisco and other cities because they couldn’t stop organized looters.

Looters don’t consume stolen property, they simply sell it on Amazon and other services. This is why it’s “organized retail crime.” Read more at the same link.

Organized retail crime isn’t just a Target problem. It has also affected other big-name retailers like Rite-Aid and Best Buy. This is the Yahoo Finance Editor in Chief Andy Serwer’s earlier this year.

Why is everyone stealing these days? This is a difficult question.

Because they can always get away with it? Because our culture mocks old-fashioned virtues such as not being a thief.

It’s in some ways a reflection of our times. The social contract in America is under strain. We have been able to lay goods out until recently, often in large, well-stocked big-box stores with a few employees. It’s a model that works when our social contract is strong, i.e. people get a fair shake.

Oh, please. Because people aren’t getting a fair shake, there are billions of dollars in “organized criminal retail crime”. This is absurd.

It seems that more people are now stealing.

Yes. How much are they stealing? Target reported net earnings in excess of $1.9 billion for the nine months ended October 29. This means that 21 per cent of Target’s profits were stolen by brazen thieves due to cultural decline and a lack of law enforcement. *

It is hard to understand why Target and other major retailers would stand for this. I suspect they consider the issue of organized retail crime to be sensitive and that they are too awake to talk about it or do anything about. They will not stop quietly abandoning their communities. They seem to think that organized theft will eventually be borne by the rest us-shoppers who don’t steal-in the form higher prices.

This is another sign that there is a serious illness in our society, which we are unable to treat.

* The numbers are not clear. Target stated that $400 million was an increase over 2021 and that organized retail theft was still strong in 2021. The total amount of money lost is likely much higher than that.