Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth reveals that locking up products hurts sales and calls current anti-theft measures ineffective
Chicago: So, Tim Wentworth, the CEO of Walgreens, recently opened up about how locking up items like toothpaste to fight shoplifting is actually hurting sales. He mentioned that when products are behind glass, people just don’t buy them as much. It’s a tough situation.
He described dealing with retail theft as a “hand-to-hand combat battle” and admitted that their current anti-theft strategies aren’t really working. In fact, Walgreens reported a whopping 52% increase in “shrink,” which is just a fancy term for lost inventory that can’t be explained by sales.
Wentworth said they’re looking for new ways to tackle shrink without making shopping a hassle for customers. He didn’t go into details, but it sounds like they want to find a better balance between security and convenience.
Retailers, including Walgreens, have tried all sorts of things to combat shoplifting, like installing cameras and using locked display cases. But these measures can sometimes annoy customers, which makes it tricky to keep everyone happy.
Despite these challenges, Walgreens did better than expected in their recent earnings report, with adjusted earnings per share hitting 51 cents, beating the 37 cents analysts predicted. Sales also rose by 7.5% to $39.5 billion.
Much of this success is credited to Wentworth and his team, who are planning to close around 1,200 underperforming stores and cut costs by $1 billion to improve profits. This has boosted investor confidence, and their stock price has jumped over 32% since the start of the year, even though it’s still down more than 77% over the last five years.
