ello (@piers)

Update: "Ritchies IGA CEO Fred Harrison said retail crime in VIC had reached 'crisis point', and managing a small business while trying to keep staff and customers safe was almost impossible. "'It's getting to a point now where [at] a number of our stores, you've got to question when leases come up, do we want to remain in this area? Do we want to remain in this store?' Mr Harrison told 7.30. 'Is it all round more profitable, safer if we just close and walk away?' "Mr Harrison said post-COVID, armed thieves had become more brazen, targeting stores during daylight hours often armed with weapons such as knives and undeterred by workers trying to stop them. He said the crime wave and questions around store viability were not limited to his supermarkets. "'That's happening in not just supermarket retail, but that's happening in general retail at the moment,' he said. 'People are making decisions to exit the business because there's that much theft that it is impacting their bottom line, and you can't expect retailers to remain trading and lose money.' "There are 85 Ritchies IGA stores across Australia, with 52 in VIC. Mr Harrison said Victoria was by far the worst state: 'I'd say 95% of the issues that we are having today as a business are all in Victoria.' "For Bunnings store manager Olivia, a seemingly normal workday involved her being spat at, verbally abused or threatened by an aggressive customer. She has worked at Bunnings for more than two decades. She said since the pandemic there had been a rise in cases involving organised crime gangs targeting her Melbourne store. "'We had a point where we had local gangs coming into the store. They would enter through different entry and exit points,' she said. 'We could see that it was very organised retail crime. They would come on a very regular basis as well with weapons and just walk straight out of our store with lawnmowers, barbecues, hot water services.' "Olivia said 12 months ago, attacks on staff were becoming so frequent her family was questioning her safety at work, and she was becoming increasingly worried about her staff. "'I've got mothers-to-be, I've got grandfathers, dads, mums, wives, daughters, and for me, I've got that responsibility to make sure that they're all going home safe to their family,' she said. "For Olivia, the breakthrough came when Bunnings introduced body-worn cameras for staff and tactical guards. She said the measures acted as a disincentive to would-be thieves, resulting in fewer violent and aggressive incidents, and a safer store. "[...] Recent crime data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has confirmed retail crime is on the rise across Australia, and Victoria is the worst-offending state. "According to the ABS, theft reached a national 21-year high last year, with 595,660 victims of personal and retail theft recorded by police — a 6% increase from the previous year. Almost half of those thefts – 45% – occurred at a retail location. In VIC, there were 169,673 victims of personal and retail theft in 2024 — a rise of 29% from the previous year. TAS followed with an uptick of 11%. "The latest data released by retail crime reporting software company Auror paints an even bleaker picture of Victoria. According to Auror, VIC saw a rise of 52% in threatening crime and a 38% jump in violent events towards retailers in 2024, compared to the previous year. NSW recorded increases of just over 30% for both threatening crime and violent events in a retail setting. "Australian Retailers Association CEO Chris Rodwell said the data confirmed what retailers see every day: 'We're deeply concerned about retail crime across Australia. There's been 800,000 incidents in the past year and that's rising and in some states it's surging.' "He said it was most concerning for smaller retailers. 'Their trading volumes are down. And so this theft, for some of them, gets them to a point where it's very hard to conceive for them how they can continue in business,' Mr Rodwell said. "The ARA is calling for the nationwide introduction of workplace protection orders, which have already led to a fall in retail crime in the ACT." Melissa Polimeni, 7.30 (v: 7m) #ABS #RetailCrime https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-09/ritchies-iga-considering-closing-stores-violence-agression/105752462