John Lewis Partnership boss Sharon White believes “organised gangs” are targeting high-value items such as spirits and are “shoplifting to order”.
Shoplifting has spiked across retailers this year and White thinks it's “not an exaggeration” to refer to the trend as an epidemic.
“It feels like in the last year we have moved from putting an extra six eggs in the shopping basket you haven’t paid for to organised gangs shoplifting to order in a way I find profoundly shocking,” she revealed while speaking at a conference led by thinktank Policy Exchange.
Waitrose, which is owned by JLP, saw one of its stores raided by a gang who were in search of a specific gin brand, but when they found out it was out of stock the criminals simply told staff: “Don’t worry – we’ll be back on Monday.”
Claiming John Lewis suffered a £12 million jump in annual losses from theft, White has called for help from the government over the last few months including urging policymakers to launch a royal commission review into high streets.
White also hopes tougher sentences can be added to charges involving shoplifting and abusing/ assaulting retail workers.
A law that means thieves who steal goods worth less than £200 do not need to attend court has become an area of criticism among retailers and MPs, some of whom argue that the law effectively decriminalises thefts at this level.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed the police would be creating a national unit to combat organised shoplifting, with retailers like John Lewis and Tesco supporting the plans through a £600,000 investment.