‘Don’t Worry, We’ll be Back Monday’: Brazen Shoplifters Tell Supermarket Staff They’ll Return When More Gin Is Stocked
A general view of empty shelves at a Waitrose store in Maidenhead, as the upmarket grocer has apologized to customers after IT issues left shelves bare of some fresh products for days and deliveries disrupted. Waitrose offered vouchers to compensate some customers, with the receipts reading, “We’re sorry if we did not have everything you were looking for today.” (Photo: Press Association/AP Images)
The United Kingdom has witnessed a surge in organized retail theft, according to recent reports. Brazen shoplifters, apparently operating in calculated gangs, are targeting high-value products on demand, painting a grim picture of the challenges retailers are currently facing.
As reported by Sky News, Waitrose, one of the United Kingdom’s leading supermarket chains, has borne the brunt of this wave.
Waitrose’s boss, Dame Sharon White, who also chairs the John Lewis Partnership, has been vocal about the alarming trajectory of retail crime. She characterized the situation as “profoundly shocking” and said it has reached “epidemic levels,” with financial losses amounting to a staggering £12 million (about $14,533,620) attributed to shoplifting.
In one specific case, per Sky News, White revealed that a group of shoplifters in search of a specific brand of gin warned the staff of the supermarket that they would come back once it was restocked.
“I was in a store a few weeks ago, and they spoke about a gang coming into the store, and they were after a particular brand of gin, and we were sold out,” White explained. “They said, ‘Don’t worry, we will be back on Monday because we know you’re going to be replenished over the weekend.'”
The gravity of the issue has prompted the U.K. government to take action. Sky News added that a national intelligence unit has been established to combat these organized shoplifting gangs. Notably, major retailers, including Tesco, the Co-op, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, have pledged £60,000 ($72,658) over two years to fund this new initiative, with an additional £30,000 ($36,329) from the Home Office.
Furthermore, White champions the implementation of legislation to protect shop workers from abuse and attacks, akin to measures already enforced in Scotland. Such legislation, she argues, is essential to safeguarding the employees who bear the brunt of retail crime.
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