While big box retail chains struggle with repeat and often violent shoplifting, small businesses say theft is also hitting them hard, and some merchants won’t tolerate it.
Amid inflation, maple syrup and honey are liquid gold at Benny’s Market, which recently moved the higher priced products to the front of the store so staff have a closer eye on potential shoplifters.
“If we see it, we do confront them. I don’t passively stand by,” co-owner Janet Benedetti told Global News in an interview.
The more than century-old family business in East Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood said it’s seeing a slight uptick in theft – with random grab and go’s.
Benedetti said her husband has sometimes jumped in his vehicle to track thieves down while she once slapped someone who filled a bag with cans of salmon and walked out without paying.
“He was so mad that he gave me back the goods but not before taking them out, one by one, and throwing them down the street,” she recalled. “But I got them back and I never saw him again.”
East West Market, which has locations on Main Street near Mount Pleasant and in Kerrisdale, is also taking matters into its own hands to recover stolen stock.
“I myself ran him down about 10 blocks with another employee and he started throwing out the seafood to slow us down,” owner-operator David Lee Kwen said of an incident where he chased down a man who walked out after stuffing his chest full of frozen salmon and prawns.
Kwen said shoplifting costs his two stores about $80,000 a year on top of theft from break-ins.
“It’s a growing problem now because everything is so expensive,” Kwen said.
Theft costs Canadian retailers billions of dollars each year, and according to the Retail Council of Canada, those costs are passed on to customers when they go shopping.
“Shoplifting has increased across all categories including food, apparel and footwear merchandise,” national spokesperson Michelle Wasylyshen said.
“Escalating inflation, a growing re-sale market for stolen goods and increase of organized crime are some of the contributors.”
According to Vancouver Police Department statistics, shoplifting reports were up 26 per cent between January 1 and August 31, with 4,617 incidents in 2023 compared to 3,672 during the same period last year.
Reported shoplifting incidents also increased 31 per cent from 4,157 in 2021 to 5,452 in 2022.
Earlier this week, one of B.C.’s best-known retailers said ongoing and violent shoplifting continues to be a serious problem and it could be left with no choice but to close several stores.
“I can say that there’s active conversations about closing stores right here in Vancouver,” Clint Mahlman, president and chief operating officer of London Drugs, told Global News on Tuesday. Mahlman later walked those comments back.
On social media, VPD Deputy Chief Const. Howard Chow said retail violence is a serious concern for police, businesses, and residents.
“Don’t want to see @CityofVancouver headed down path of many major cities in NA, where violent shoplifters are walking into stores & stealing items with impunity. When challenged, staff are met with violence.” Chow posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday.
The city’s top cop said he’s not worried Vancouver is on the verge of becoming Seattle or San Francisco because police are working with retailers and their security teams on various projects to keep the city safe.
“I think that we’ve got good processes in place and were hitting it hard,” Chief Const. Adam Palmer told Global News Thursday.
“I hate to see people walk out with goods (right) now (at) Walmart and we can’t stop them,” Kwen said. “We should … learn from it, do something about it before we get like that.”
“I know that it will have more of an impact of course on smaller, sort of mom and pop businesses than maybe a big box store,” said Palmer.
“But the big box store is also where we see a lot of the chronic offenders going and the repeat violent offenders who continually will go back and just steal and steal and steal – and get released.”
“If you steal from the smaller people, it hurts bigger than the big box stores,” added Benedetti.
Benny’s Market also noted it’s never said ‘No’ to anyone who’s come in hungry and asked for food.
“If you ask politely, that’s different than stealing,” said Benedetti.