Perfumes are the shoplifter’s favourite

9 August, 2004

MADRID – Thefts from shopping malls, supermarkets and department stores cost Spanish retailers around EUR 1,080 million a year, nearly 1 percent of their turnover, according to a report published on Monday.

The shops lose a further EUR 420 million through administrative errors, say the authors of the study, José Luis Nueno y Pedro Videla, both professors at the IESE business school in Barcelona.

Of all these losses, 44 percent are attributed to employees stealing from their employers and 28 percent to outside thieves.

The size, the number of customers and the sales system used by bigger shops all contribute to them suffering more thefts, says the report.

Most of the objects stolen by customers are “sudden urges” for things they would not normally buy.

Top of the list in Spain are perfumes, followed in order by cosmetics, other pharmacy items, liqueurs, preserves, batteries, razors and chocolates.

The study says the growth in these ‘unknown losses’ has been accentuated by factors such as more self-service, a reduction in the number of retailers and greater automation.

In Spain the commonest forms of security are guards, till controls, closed-circuit television, electronic warning tabs, metal detectors and one way mirrors.

The authors say that the use of standardized forms of protection such as ‘intelligent’ price tags could help prevent these losses and reduce costs for retailers.

The tags also help in making the best use of transport and storage. But their current cost of around EUR 0.80 is up to 10 times higher than using barcode stickers and makes them prohibitively expensive for low-cost items.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news