A supermarket chain has decided to remove popular household brands from a store in Washington, D.C., citing rising crime rates.
The Ward 8 location of the grocery retailer Giant Food will no longer be carrying brands such as Tide detergent, Colgate toothpaste or even Advil ibuprofen, over a continued rise in theft and crime rates, the Washington Post reported. The company has previously weighed shutting down operations after it lost 20% of its revenue.
“We want to continue to be able to serve the community, but we can’t do so at the level of significant loss or risk to our associates that we have today,” Ira Kress, the president of Giant Foods explained. (RELATED: Walmart Eyeing Store Closures, Price Hikes Due To Rampant Theft)
D.C. Ward 8 Council member Trayon White Sr. is calling for the Giant along Alabama Avenue Southeast to remain open so his constituents can access fresh food without traveling to a neighboring ward.https://t.co/3S9wJ5jIf3
— WTOP (@WTOP) August 12, 2023
Giant Food, which operates 165 grocery store locations throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia has implemented changes in some of the stores, including hiring additional security guards, locking up more high-value items and limiting the amount of items in the self-checkout area. The chain has also not had to close down any locations yet.
Despite taking additional measures to try to deter people from shoplifting, Kress noted that at the Ward 8 Giant located on Alabama Avenue, things are “actually worse, not better.”
“And we’ve invested a significant amount of money here, even more security here than any other store,” Kress said.
Other large companies have had to take measures such as closing their stores in various locations as theft and other crime problems increase. Whole Foods and Walmart announced the closure of several locations in Chicago due to retail theft. Certain CVS and Target locations have also started locking up items like toothpaste and Axe deodorant, citing retail theft problems. Lidl Supermarket revealed they would be leaving the Baltimore area over problems with theft and shoplifting.
Washington, D.C., has reported seeing 8,562 thefts in 2023, a 24% increase from 2022’s 6,927, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.