A growing number of U.S. retailers are ringing alarm bells on organized looting that is gripping many major urban markets across the country.
Best Buy reported decent third-quarter earnings (pdf), topping market estimates. The consumer electronics retail giant found more Americans upgraded their home technologies and kitchen appliances. But the company warned some of the challenges it faces moving forward, including “organized retail crime.”
“Across retail, we are definitely seeing more and more particularly organized retail crime,” Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on a quarterly earnings conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Barry noted that the retailer was determining how to “lock up” products while also ensuring “a good customer experience.” The Best Buy chief executive confirmed that some store locations had hired security guards.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Barry stated that mass store thefts have been “traumatic” for employees as she witnessed “more loosely organized groups come together and target our stores.”