Target Corp. is closing nine stores — retreating from doors in Portland, Ore., the San Francisco area, Seattle and New York City amid a rising tide of retail theft and safety concerns.
“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” Target said in a statement. “We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all.”
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Target operates nearly 2,000 stores and has been sounding the alarm on retail crime with greater urgency this year.
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The discounter warned in May that shrink — inventory that goes missing — would cut an additional $500 million out of its annual earnings this year. And last month, Brian Cornell, chairman and chief executive officer, said shrink in the second quarter was “consistent with our expectations, but well above the sustainable level where we expect to operate over time.”
As shoplifting has increased, so has the danger. Target said it saw a 120 percent increase in thefts that involved violence or threats of violence over the first five months of the fiscal year.
The nine stores that will be closed on Oct. 21 include three doors in Portland, three in the San Francisco area, two in Seattle and one in New York. Target has other stores in each of those markets and eligible employees will be given the opportunity to transfer to another location.
“Before making this decision, we invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft and organized retail crime in our stores, such as adding more security team members, using third-party guard services, and implementing theft-deterrent tools across our business,” Target said. “Despite our efforts, unfortunately, we continue to face fundamental challenges to operating these stores safely and successfully.”
Target said it would continue to fight theft — including through investments in store security and technology — while using “a whole of community, government and industry approach to seek solutions.”
Shoplifting has always figured into retail, but groups that take a more methodical approach clearing out stores of specific items have become more prevalent.
Just before Target revealed the store closures, the National Retail Federation released a survey showing that shrink accounted for losses of $112.1 billion last year, up 19.4 percent from 2021.
“Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire,” said David Johnston, the NRF’s vice president for asset protection and retail operations. “Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category.”
The survey showed that shrink rose to 1.6 percent of sales last year from 1.4 percent in 2021, with internal and external theft accounting for 65 percent of shrink.
Target’s experience is in keeping with many of the industry trends seen in the study, which included insights from 177 retail brands.
Retail crime prompted store closures at 28 percent of respondents, while 45 percent said they cut operating hours and 30 percent cut or tweaked in-store product selection.
With violence increasing, more retailers have taken a “hands-off” approach. Forty-one percent of respondents said they had no employees who were authorized to stop or apprehend shoplifters, up from 38 percent of retailers who had that policy a year ago.
Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland, Houston, New York and Seattle were the areas hit hardest by organized retail crime last year, the NRF said.