What do stock brokers in 1929, travel agents in 2020, and retail workers in 2023 all have in common?
They were all in the wrong sector at the wrong time.
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It's no secret that it's been really tough to be a retailer in a post-pandemic world. Inventory shrink, or a loss of goods due to shoplifting, fraud, and errors is at an industry-wide high. It's getting harder to hire and keep retail workers, as low wages, demanding hours, difficult customers and workplace violence make roles wholly unappealing.
And crime and violence are on the rise. A recent Retail Workplace Survey by Loss Prevention Magazine indicates that 60% of retail workers saw some form of violence on the job over the past 12 months.
Of all of the retailers hit by a rising tide of crime, Walmart (WMT) -) may be hit the hardest. The largest retailer in America has locations within 10 miles of 90% of the population. It's a cheap and convenient place to shop. But that's also what's hindered it.
"Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been. We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location," Walmart CEO DOug McMillon told CNBC in late 2022. "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. If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close."
That premonition proved to be true. Just halfway through 2023, 22 Walmart stores had closed as of June. Four of those stores were in Chicago alone (eight were in Illinois).
"These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years," Walmart wrote in a press release following the Chicago closures, adding, "We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the city...It was hoped that these investments would help improve our stores’ performance. Unfortunately, these efforts have not materially improved the fundamental business challenges our stores are facing."
Some of those fundamental business challenges are violent and nonviolent crimes in more populous or urban areas. It's also why two Atlanta-based Walmart locations closed, after suspected arson permanently shuttered both the Howell Mill Road and Vine City locations.
Walmart is now planning to reopen the Vine City location – with a major upgrade.
Walmart reopens with a police substation
While the Howell Mill Road Walmart will remain permanently closed, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the former Vine City Supercenter will reopen with a pharmacy, grocery store, and police station to help combat crime and better serve the neighborhood.
"After talking with the Merchants Association on MLK and Clark University and other people in the neighborhood, folks were saying they want to see more police presence," Dickens said.
When it reopens, the store will be a Neighborhood Market, which is typically one fifth the size of a Supercenter.
Having a police substation in a Walmart is a first, but officials believe an increased police presence will help to prevent in-store crime and make shoppers feel safer. The substation will provide a place for police to charge their phones and body cameras, as well as have meetings and file documents.
Dickens added that he hopes the police station will help Walmart leadership feel confident that inventory shrinkage won't be as pervasive of an issue and hopefully prevent them from leaving, as was the case in Chicago.
