As Crime Spirals in USA, Walmart CEO Makes Wild Prediction
In America today, there are severe concerns over the rampant rise in violent crime that we are witnessing in both ajor metropolitan areas and the suburbs alike.
In Chicago, it’s hard to go a day without someone being shot and/or killed. In Portland, Oregon, a near-perpetual riot has been ongoing for months. And in locales far and wide, brazen shoplifting stunts continue to wreak havoc on the retail sector.
The trend has the CEO of Walmart making some bold predictions about the future of the retail giant.
Walmartstores across the U.S. are grappling with an uptick in shoplifting that could lead to higher prices and closed stores if the problem persists, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Tuesday.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it,” McMillon said.
The results could be dire, he warned.
When asked on Tuesday about how local jurisdictions handle shoplifting cases, McMillon said a lax approach from prosecutors could impact prices and lead to store closures down the line.
“If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close,” McMillon said.
Fellow retailer Target was also bearing the brunt of the trend, stating that they’ve recorded a whopping 50% uptick in shoplifting incidents in their stores.