James Frith visits Currys to discuss retail crime and digital inclusion
James Frith, Member of Parliament for Bury North MP, has visited a Currys store at Woodfields Retail Park to discuss retail crime and digital inclusion.
The visit was arranged to enable Frith to meet store colleagues and hear from the retailer about how it working to combat rising retail crime and eradicate digital poverty.
Subscribe to TRBCurrys has recently made its largest ever annual investment in store safety measures as it looks to keep staff safe and deter shoplifters. This has included the introduction of new headsets to keep colleagues better connected and therefore safer on the shop floor.
During the visit, Frith was given the opportunity to see the headsets in action and hear directly from colleagues about how they are benefiting from the new technology.
He also learned about Currys’ local and national initiatives to tackle digital poverty in partnership with the Digital Poverty Alliance. These include allowing customers to make donations to the DPA at in-store at checkouts through the ‘Pennies’ scheme and the retailer donating a proportion of every online sale of refurbished tech in its mobile and computing categories to the DPA.
The fund raised are used to help people living in digital poverty across the UK.
Frith said: “It was brilliant to visit the Bury Currys store, meet my constituents, and talk with the team about the importance of tackling retail crime.
“It’s vital that stores across the UK are a safe and secure environment to work and shop in, and I commend Currys on their investment in innovative solutions to help tackle this important issue. I will continue to work closely with the police and local authorities to ensure we do everything possible to protect our communities.”
“I was pleased to hear about the work Currys are undertaking to help eradicate digital poverty. Access to digital services is crucial to give everyone the confidence and skills to thrive, and I commend Currys on their work in this important area, especially their collaboration with the Government on DSIT’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan.”
Mark Ridge, regional manager at Currys, said: “We loved hosting James in store, was great to discuss the rising rates of retail crime and Currys’ contribution to customers and colleagues in his constituency. We welcome and support the Government’s commitment to making aggression towards retail colleagues a specific standalone crime.”
