These days, more and more retailers are shutting down their brick-and-mortar locations and leaning heavily on online shopping – or else going under completely in a turbulent economy and shopping culture. Target, too, is closing nine of its stores across multiple states – but this time, due to theft
Reportedly, incidents of retail theft and organized crime have been threatening the safety of its workers and shoppers. Target has around 1,900 stores across the country, so the scope of these closings are not big. But they speak to the intensity of the root cause of these closings after Target says it exhausted all other possible options.
Target is closing nine stores due to theft
By time of writing, it is not clear if the particular locations were underperforming, reports CNN, which also says Target did not provide data on each store’s sales goals and whether they’d been met or not. So far, theft has been regarded as the sole cause behind closing these particular Target stores.
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“Our team continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime,” said Target CEO Brian Cornell, “Unfortunately, safety incidents associated with theft are moving in the wrong direction.”
The affected areas are: the East Harlem location in New York City, two stores in Seattle, San Francisco and Oakland, and three in Portland. Doors will shut on October 21.
Ramifications for everyone involved
Target has offered affected employees the chance to transfer to different Target locations less affected by theft. However, Cornell says he recognizes the chain’s importance in various communities, especially where options are limited.
“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” a statement by Target reads.
Several of these Target locations are among underserved communities that will lose out when these stores close. Target assures that it took additional measures so things might not come to this by recruiting third-party guard services, forming additional security teams, and using theft deterrent tools. Ultimately, however, several communities as a whole will miss out, especially those who relied upon these stores for consistency and quality.
