Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and other mega-retailers have shuttered stores throughout the U.S. due to an overwhelming uptick in thefts.
As Breitbart News reported, reliable retail outlets have begun to make due on their pledge to close stores if crime continues to climb. Just last week, Walmart closed as many as four stores in crime-ridden Chicago.
“The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago,” Walmart said in a statement. “These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years.”
As reporter John Nolte put it, left-wing cities and states have made shoplifting nearly legal by letting such criminals off with barely a slap on the wrist:
Chicago has one problem… Insane voters. We assumed after current Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost the Democrat primary that the city was coming to its senses. Well, we were wrong. Turns out Lightfoot wasn’t radical enough for Chicago voters, so they booted her and brought in an even more dangerous left-wing radical, Brandon Johnson. He came into office on the promise to raise about a billion dollars in taxes on corporations and to ensure even more violent criminals run free.
It’s unlikely Walmart is worried about taxes or even violent criminals. The problem is that shoplifting has been all but decriminalized, and these retailers are losing, as you read above, tens of millions of dollars.
Walmart shuttering stores in Chicago comes after it closed its remaining Portland stores due to a crime wave in Antifa’s native city.
“We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S. and unfortunately some do not meet our financial expectations. While our underlying business is strong, these specific stores haven’t performed as well as we hoped,” the company said.
Walmart has shuttered as many as 17 stores across nine states, according to the Daily Mail, while Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, also recently closed its one store in downtown San Francisco due to rising crime levels.
WATCH: San Francisco D.A. Laments ‘Rampant’ Theft Hitting Retailers
Local Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey blamed the closure on the city’s lax treatment of criminals.
“Our neighborhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them,” said Dorsey at the time.
Our neighborhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them. (2/7)
— Matt Dorsey (@mattdorsey) April 10, 2023
According to the Daily Mail, Target lost roughly $400 million in profits last “November due to organized gangs of shoplifters who had been stealing merchandise from its stores,” with its CFO predicting that the company will have up to $600 million in losses by the end of this year.
“Stores on Baltimore Ave in Maryland, West Lake Street in Minnesota, Chestnut Street in Pennsylvania and South Washington Street in Virginia are all affected,” noted the Mail.
“All four smaller-format stores were rolled out about 10 years ago as a way to reach customers in more urban areas and will close on May 13. “
WATCH: Shoplifting Gangs Paralyze Los Angeles Retailers
Walgreens closed as many as five stores in San Francisco due to an uptick in organized shoplifting in 2021.
This year, Walgreens closed one store in Chicago, one in Texas, and two more in Florida. Macy’s and Best Buy have faced similar closures, per the Daily Mail:
Shopping mall staple Macy’s is closing four stores in the first quarter of 2023, with malls in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Maryland losing out. The closures are part of Macy’s three-year plan to close 125 locations as an increase in organized retail crimes cuts into the profits of businesses.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry highlighted the growing problem with theft at its stores back in November 2021 … Barry said organized retail crime groups would steal entire shelves of high-value products like electronics to resell them at a discounted price.
In 2021, retailers lost a combined $94.5 billion from theft and inventory loss, according to the 2022 National Retail Security Survey. California has seen 35 retail outlets close while New York closed 23 and Illinois closed 18. Florida also closed 21 stores.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on Tubi or rented at VIMEO On Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms as well as on Truth Social @paulboisbreitbart.
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