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A RETAILER has been forced to install posts outside the front doors in a last-ditch effort to stop unhinged thieves from smashing their cars through the entrances.
Store owners are desperately trying to yank back billions of dollars worth of products that are ending up in the hands of ruthless shoplifters.
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The anti-theft inventions were recently noticed popping up outside a Dior in San Francisco, California, where crime has made huge waves in the retail industry.
The strange white posts are bolted into the ground in front of all entrances and have large tables to block vehicles in their tracks, SFGATE reported.
San Francisco Public Works confirmed the structures were installed to prevent theft and said Dior may be the first of many stores to install the posts.
The innovative solution comes as no surprise as the Bay Area has been struggling to retain retailers who are fleeing the city to protect their employees.
In September 2023, Target shut down three stores in the city and said organized crime had made business untenable.
“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” Target said at the time.
Earlier this fall, a Starbucks in the city closed after enjoying 30 years of business, and a beloved grocer shut for good just weeks prior.
For several years, business owners have complained about brazen thieves boldly destroying their properties to make a quick buck.
Between 2022 and 2023, local restaurant chain Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen was twice targeted by drivers smashing through businesses to steal cars.
CEO Jeff Weinstein told SFGATE the repairs cost him over $250,000.
Last month, a driver rammed into a San Francisco Louis Vuitton store in an attempted burglary.
After that store was targeted, Mayor London Breed announced that posts would be implemented across town with the government’s help.
“We just want them to prevent vehicles from ramming into these businesses in order to rob them,” she told reporters at the time.
Mayor Breed said the city would speed up the approval process for businesses that wish to use the posts and give away money to help with the costs.
Anti-theft measures rolled out by retailers
Retailers across the US and Canada have rolled out strategies designed to combat theft. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of measures that have been implemented at stores.
- Locking items in cabinets
- Security pegs
- Security cameras
- Signs warning about the impact of theft
- Receipt scanners
- Receipt checks
- Carts with locking technology
The announcement sparked praise among leaders for the Union Square shopping center, where the Dior store is located.
“We appreciate the support from the city to not only to allow us to easily navigate the process for permitting and that sort of thing but also support the financing of this tool,” said Marisa Rodriguez, a leader for the Union Square Alliance.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to San Francisco Public Works for any updates on the anti-theft measures.
According to retail theft statistics, around $121.6 billion worth of products were shoplifted from stores in 2023.
This was up from $112.1 billion the previous year, and experts fear the industry could be kissing $143 billion goodbye by 2025.
Meanwhile, Walmart has installed a new anti-theft measure that will also speed up shopping.
