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H&M is the latest retailer feeling the heat of rampant retail theft in the US.
In a recent interview with Reuters, CEO Helena Helmersson said the fast fashion brand is amping up security across its stores as shoplifting becomes an industry-wide problem.
The company is working on new solutions to combat the problem, which was previously noted by H&M CFO Adam Karlsson in a press briefing, Reuters reported. “It is an increasing problem in many markets,” Karlsson said.
Across the board: H&M is certainly not alone in grappling with shoplifting. Earlier this month, Zara owner Inditex said it’s still working on perfecting a new anti-shoplifting system after staff “raised concerns to management that the technology may actually make theft easier,” Bloomberg reported.
The retailer’s goal is to discard the hard plastic security tags on garments that employees said were easy to remove, and replace them with tiny RFID chips.
This week, Target announced it would shut down nine of its stores across major cities in the US, citing unsafe working conditions for its staff and an “unsustainable” business environment.
“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” Target said in a statement. “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.”