O'ahu retailers report increase in shoplifting

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Add shoplifting to the list of problems that have only gotten worse for many Hawai'i businesses since Sept. 11.

Customers pass through the Sensormatic Anti-Theft device as they exit Tower Records in Honolulu. Company investigator Ron Glover says shoplifting attempts have climbed 30 percent at the three O'ahu stores since Sept. 11. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

The businesses that have seen merchandise disappear — "shrinkage," it's called in the retail trade — blame layoffs, hard times and sometimes fewer salespeople watching the store.

"I don't have any scientific evidence, but it seems to be up," said Paul Kosasa, president and chief executive of ABC Stores. "Maybe we're just more sensitive to shoplifting due to the economy being so soft. Maybe we notice the problem more because it's a little bit slower and our staff is more aware. Maybe we just feel it deeper now."

Shoplifting attempts have jumped 30 percent at Tower Records' three O'ahu stores since Sept. 11, said company investigator Ron Glover.

"It's picked up a little bit — not drastically," he said. "People are trying more, but they either chicken out or something spooks them and they leave."

On the national level, shoplifting, employee theft and lost inventory together cost retailers 1.6 to 1.8 percent of total sales, an overwhelming $30 billion loss.

Employee thefts cause the greatest loss — 46 percent of all shrinkage last year, according to the National Retail Security Survey conducted at the University of Florida. Shoplifting accounted for 30.6 percent of losses, followed by 17.6 percent for administrative errors, such as sloppy inventory control that fails to account for all of the merchandise.

Mike Windsor, president of longtime retailer McInerny, saved $250,000 by eliminating his company's loss-prevention division.

"To my surprise," he said, "shrinkage went down."

During annual inventory, McInerny normally sees a loss of 2 percent. But the October inventory showed losses below 1 percent, Windsor said. That could be the result of regular internal checks of merchandise and employees, he said.

It's impossible to measure the extent of employee theft on O'ahu because the Honolulu Police Department does not break out the numbers as a separate crime.

Honolulu police do count shoplifting cases, which have shown almost no change since last year. In September 2000, there were 334 cases islandwide, exactly the same number as in September 2001. October 2000 saw 354 cases, which climbed to 369 cases last October. November 2000 had 352 cases, vs. 351 last November, according to preliminary statistics. Reports for December and January are pending.

Robert Blackwood, principal/vice president of Florida-based Loss Prevention Solutions, has heard talk about a nationwide epidemic of shoplifting since Sept. 11.

"Anecdotally, we hear things," Blackwood said, "but it's hard for us to put our finger on there being a significant increase post 9/11. We don't have any statistical basis except for casual conversations with our customers."

Some O'ahu businesses say the numbers have not changed because they no longer call police. The time it takes to file a report is valuable time that could be used making sales, they say.

"Making your reports to the police department just takes time," said one executive whose company operates stores in Waikiki and at Ala Moana Center. "Most times nothing becomes of it."

He asked not to be identified out of fear that shoplifters would target his stores if they knew that police are not routinely called.

Shoplifters seem to be taking merchandise of greater value and trying to walk off with more stuff, said Sears' Ching.

"Of course, they're trying to take more," he said. "They're greedy these days, and they just want more."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.