SILVER SPRING, Md. – The president of Giant Food — the Landover, Maryland-based supermarket chain — is no longer staying silent on crime and violence in the area. He’s speaking out now that it’s impacting his stores in costly ways.
The warning has some questioning whether Giant could be forced to close some doors like some other businesses have done in D.C. over the past few years.
“I’ll tell ya why I’m speaking to it now,” said Giant Food President Ira Kress, “It’s because we started to take some actions that we know, and I know as we took them are going to cause a customer level of inconvenience that I didn’t want to cause. But I wanted to make sure, if nothing else, our customers understood why we were taking some of those actions.”
Supermarket theft is not a new issue, but Kress says it’s a problem that has been growing since the Coronavirus Pandemic and slightly before. In response, FOX 5 has learned that Giant Food hired more security in certain stores. They’ve also taken measures like closing alternate entrances and locking up certain products to address crime and customer/employee safety.
Kress estimates that between the cost of increased security measures and money lost due to theft, the company is spending “tens of millions” of dollars.
Hours after FOX 5 interviewed Kress on Monday, D.C. police responded to a stabbing at a Northwest D.C. Giant location.
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FOX 5 reported on a deadly double shooting in 2022 at an Oxon Hill Giant store where a suspect shoplifted and killed a security guard. The security guard fired back, also killing the suspected shoplifter.
“We’re not a bank, we don’t have vaults,” Kress said. “I don’t want to create an environment where everything is locked up in the stores. But I do not see today anything occurring which is going to significantly impact positively, the escalation that’s occurring in either theft or violence. I welcome the conversations.”
“It makes me feel like I live in a different world than where I used to live,” said Giant customer Damion Lynch when asked about some of the security changes. “I mean, it used to be you could go to any place you wanted to go, and you could feel safe and go shopping, do whatever you need. Now, you’ve got to watch over your shoulder. I love Giant. I come here all the time. I like their products. When you come to a store though, you need to be able to feel free and safe to come. So, I don’t feel it’s just Giant’s problem. I also feel it’s the law enforcement and those who make the law.”
FOX 5 asked Kress what stores could close first if they had to consider doing so. He answered he has “zero plans” to close any stores. He also told FOX 5 that’s why he’s speaking out – so they don’t have to do so.
Source: FOX5