SHOPPERS have slammed the CEO of Target after he insisted customers are “thankful” that stores have started locking up everyday items.
Brian Cornell claimed that many shoppers are behind the move which has seen body wash, toothpaste and deodorant locked behind glass panels to reduce theft.
The retail giant has blamed soaring crime for stagnating sales as the company struggles to achieve the growth it enjoyed during the Covid pandemic.
“Just in the last week I’ve been on the East Coast and on the West Coast in many of those stores that you’ve talked about where, items have been locked up,” Cornell told CNBC this week.
He continued: “And actually what we hear from the guests is a big thank you, because we are in stock with the brands that they need when they’re shopping in our stores.
“And because we’ve invested in team member labor in those aisles and make sure we’re there to greet that guest, open up those cases and provide them the items they’re looking for.
Target shoppers have criticized the comments, with many taking to Facebook to vent their frustrations.
“Target CEO claims customers say ‘a big thank you’ for locking up merchandise,” one said.
“This is dumb, ridiculous and moronic.”
A second weighed in: “At no point has ANY customer wanted to beg for the privilege of purchasing a razor blade or whatever other random product requires an employee to escort you to the register like you’re carrying the Hope f***ing Diamond.”
A third user said: “Imagine telling other adults – with a straight face – that a single person genuinely believes that the reason your stores have more inventory after putting all these locked cabinets in place is because nobody can steal it rather than nobody can be bothered to deal with the bull***t of tracking someone down to buy it.”
This comes as Target admitted to high levels of inventory shrinkage, in a call made to investors in May.
Shrink is the metric used by companies to calculate the amount of inventory lost or stolen.
Cornell told investors that Target was expected to lose $600million in profits this year due to this issue.
One Target shopper took to TikTok to reveal that Target’s anti-theft measures were extreme which led him to shop on Amazon instead.
TikToker Cook Wayne said an item he wanted to buy for his son was behind glass and needed staff assistance to buy.
The U.S Sun have reached out to Target for comment.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/9652243/shoppers-blast-target-ceo-ridiculous-anti-theft-comment/