Massive retailers now close in a state due to theft, which has driven away a significant number of customers, sources report.
NIKE, Target, and other profitable chain stores have closed various locations after a city was pummeled by thefts, reports The-Sun.
Portland, Oregon has been struggling to battle retail theft, which has driven away a significant number of retailers, said the news outlet.
These include Nike, Target, and REI, who’ve tried to collaborate with police officers to minimize theft, per The Wall Street Journal.
The city and the retailers struggled to address retail crime and seemed unable to find a solution according to emails obtained by the publication.
The problem continued to snowball, resulting in various retailers making the decision to close the locations while claiming that the city didn’t provide sufficient support.
“Everything was working except for the theft,” said James Lampus, a landlord for a Nike store based in Portland.
He explained that the store considered multiple options before deciding to close, including redesigning the space and limiting the amount of customers allowed at a time.
“People on the retail side were exhausted,” he continued.
Portland has struggled with rising cases of homelessness, violent crimes, and residents who are leaving the city in search of better opportunities.
Shoplifting cases were up 22% at the start of 2023, with the city reporting higher numbers than other cities that were surveyed.
Industry executives have called for more collaboration with law enforcement, saying that rising retail crime rates are hurting store safety and company profits.
To combat theft, companies are locking up more products and some are even holding their own investigations to find suspects.
Just this month, governors Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul of California and New York respectively called for new legislation against retail theft.
These would include measures that would add or expand criminal penalties on those who profit from, theft or assault on retail workers.
In Portland, leaders said the crime stats don’t give the full picture.
There’s a change in consumer spending, causing a shift in business strategies and negotiations with landlords that play a role in how retailers make decisions.
The city is also setting aside district attorneys to focus on prosecuting shoplifters, said Andrew Fitzpatrick, Portland’s director of economic development.
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A massive furniture company now lays off 1,650 employees, which represent approximately 13% of its global workforce.
Wayfair has laid off about 1,650 employees, the company said Friday.
The online home decor retailer said the cuts represent about 19% of its corporate team and 13% of its global workforce.
The move is expected to give the company more than $280 million in annualized cost savings.
About $150 million of that will come from cash compensation savings.
However, the restructuring will likely cost Wayfair approximately $70 million to $80 million in severance and benefits costs, most of which are anticipated to be incurred in the first quarter, reports RetailDive.
While CEO Niraj Shah in an open letter to employees pointed to “many things at the company that are going well,” including gaining share with customers and making progress to operate more efficiently, the retailer has faced challenges.
The company “went overboard” with hiring during the height of the pandemic, when the retailer’s annualized sales doubled to $18 billion from $9 billion as people spent more on their homes, Shah said.
This is Wayfair’s third round of restructuring since the summer of 2022.
The company laid off 870 employees in August of that year.
Last January, a whopping 1,750 people were also let go.
This time, Shah said they decided to err on the side of having too few people versus too many.
“Each time we used our best judgment, identified the cost target we needed to hit, and believed we were resizing to the right point,” Shah said Friday.
“In many ways, having too many great people is worse than having too few.
With too few, you get a lot done quickly, but you may not get everything done that you want.
But having too many causes inefficiency, coordination costs, and investments in lower-return activities.
That is what we have been experiencing and what we need to end.”
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Also Read: Massive Layoffs in Ohio Now Announced For 2024
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