Holland & Barrett hires undercover detectives to tackle shoplifting
Holland & Barrett is hiring undercover detectives to help tackle the issue of shoplifting in its stores.
The Times has reported that the health and wellness retailer has hired plain clothes operatives to identify criminals who are stealing high value products such as Manuka honey.
Subscribe to TRBIt has also appointed a retail intelligence firm to provide data on which stores are most in need of private detectives.
The cretailer told The Times that stolen premium sports nutrition products are often sold for resale on the secondary market.
Holland & Barrett has also seen a “rise in incidents directed at colleagues” which means that all staff now wear body-worn cameras.
Anthony Houghton, chief executive of Holland & Barrett told The Times: “The behaviour on the high street , it’s just not acceptable. It’ awful that we have to do this.”
Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer’s retail director Thinus Keeve called for stronger action on retail crime following a series of incidents involving shoplifting and violence in its stores. He also called for the police to be given more resources to tackle retail crime effectively as it becomes “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.
