Shoplifting hurting ‘mum and dad’ stores

Saturday, 20 January 2024

Fin clothing co-owner Sue Moar says her clothing store has recently fallen victim to retail crime, forcing her to swallow the costs.

Often written off as petty crime, shoplifting costs retailers billions each year – and “mum and dad” business owners are the most likely to be punished.

Retail crime was back in the spotlight this week with Green MP Golriz Ghahraman resigning over alleged shoplifting at an Auckland clothing boutique. Much of the coverage focused on Ghahraman’s mental health issues and the impact of threats directed female politicians.

Retail NZ chief executive Caroline Young said small businesses – mum and dad stores run by locals – were especially affected by shoplifting and forced to absorb the costs, not large chains as commonly believed.

The estimated cost to retailers was about $2.6 billion a year, according to a Retail NZ survey taken in October.

Many of the businesses owners were working 60 hours a week to make a living, as well as dealing with the impacts of the cost of living crisis and inflation, alongside low sales and higher rents and mortgages.

Three $60 hand-made bucket hats were stolen at once, Moar says, to her dismay.

“People can’t absorb all of the loses all of the time,” Young said.

Fin clothing store owner Sue Moar said her small boutique in central Wellington had experienced a spate of shoplifting recently.

She often noticed empty hangers at the end of the day, while someone had stolen three bucket hats she made herself out of vintage blankets.

Fin is located on Cuba St, and is run by Moar and her husband, Murray. Many of the clothes are hand made.

Valued at about $60 each, this was about $180 taken off the shelves. Moar sews the items herself, out of material cut and provided by her husband.

Moar said she was now worried to put her coats near the entrance to the store, in case someone walked out with them.

Rings had been stolen, with one woman placing one on each finger during last year’s CubaDupa festival and walking away with them. When she did confront a would-be thief, she was verbally abused.

While difficult to know the true value of stolen items, she estimated at least five items a month were being taken, adding to the stress and cost of running a business.

Graphic comic book store employee Oliver Wilson says shoplifters are difficult to catch or to stop.

“It’s been a bit harder lately. It makes it worse when things are stolen.”

Another locally owned Wellington business affected is Graphic – a comic book store based on Cuba St.

Oliver Wilson said the shop, which has been on Cuba St location since the 1990s, is subjected to a fair amount of shoplifting.

However, criminals were hard to catch.

“We can only notice later when our numbers aren’t matching up with what we’ve got in.”

When people are caught on camera “nothing really happens”, he said, with police saying thieves had to be caught in the act for them to be charged.

Wilson said they would only notice when they went to sell an item and saw it was missing from the shelf.

About $300 worth of stock could go missing each week, he said.

Police data shows that while retail crime in central Wellington has continued to rise, police action against offenders has not followed the trend – staying near the same volume since 2014.

In October 2023 – the most recent month of available data – 176 incidents of theft from a retail premises were recorded in central Wellington, versus 16 instances of police action against offenders.

“Victimisations”, as they are recorded, are when the crime is reported to police, whereas “proceedings” are based on when police first take action. This may occur days or even weeks after the crime is reported.

Police were unable to provide answers to questions about shoplifting response rates.

A police spokesperson previously said the Auror security platform was partially behind the rise in retail crime rates, boosting reports of “lower value, lower harm offending”.

The police also promised to crackdown on an expected rise in shoplifting over the holiday season, posting additional officers in hot-spot areas across the region and Wairarapa.

Correction: The original version of this story gave the incorrect name for Sue Moar’s store.