沃尔玛永久关闭美国部分分店，原因：频繁遭抢！

最近，美国零售巨头沃尔玛深受“零元购”困扰，宣布由于财务原因，永久关闭其在俄勒冈州波特兰市区内的所有零售门店。

所谓“零元购”，指不法分子聚众“快闪”式哄抢、砸抢。

消息一出，有组织的入店行窃和员工安全问题成为人们热议焦点。

The closure of retail stores in some major US cities has sparked a political dispute about the reasons, with organized shoplifting rings and employee safety often cited.

近日，俄勒冈州波特兰市市长泰德·惠勒（Ted Wheeler）表示，美国最大的零售商沃尔玛因该市极高的犯罪率将离开这座城市。

Recently, the mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler, said the largest US retailer Walmart is leaving the Northwest city because of crime.

3月5日，得克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特在推特上发布了一则文章称，沃尔玛决定关闭波特兰最后两家门店，这将影响到580名员工。

Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted a link on March 5 to an article about Walmart's decision to close its last two stores in Portland, which will affect 580 workers.

此前，沃尔玛首席执行官公开警告说，鉴于影响到全国各地商店的、极高的零售犯罪率，一些门店可能会被迫关闭，商品售价可能会因此上涨。

其实，沃尔玛宣布闭店并非个例。

在其发出关闭门店公告之前，在波特兰的许多其它知名商店已经宣布关闭，其中的许多商店都特别提到了当地犯罪猖獗的原因。

2022年，运动品牌耐克（Nike）曾宣布关闭波特兰市中心区旗舰店。耐克表示，旗舰店在短短两个月遭遇歹徒入侵次数达15次。

闭门潮席卷美国零售界，释放出了一个危险信号：整个行业处于变革与不确定交织的复杂局面中。零售盗窃已成为一个全国性的问题。

In December, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said: "Theft is an issue. It's higher than what it has historically been." 

去年12月，沃尔玛首席执行官道格·麦克伦表示：“盗窃是个问题。它比有史以来的水平都要高。”

"The retail industry is changing and retail theft is a national issue," Wheeler said.

惠勒也表示，零售业正在改变，零售盗窃已成为一个全国性的问题。

图源：视觉中国

Footwear giant Nike, headquartered in Oregon, had offered to pay off-duty Portland police officers to provide security at one of its stores. 

总部位于俄勒冈州的制鞋业巨头耐克公司曾向波特兰的休班警察支付报酬，让他们为其一家门店提供安保服务。

Nike has said that the problem is nationwide, and some of its warehouses and even trains carrying its merchandise have been hit.

耐克表示，这个问题是全国性的，其部分仓库，甚至是运货的火车都受到了影响。

零售商表示，这些有组织的团伙作案，通常是多名歹徒冲进商店，大肆偷窃商品。

Retailers say the main problem is organized rings that involve multiple suspects rushing through stores and stealing large quantities of goods.

面对日益猖獗的入店行窃问题，立法者不得不考虑如何从法律上寻求改变。

Last year, legislators in California, Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina increased penalties for stealing from stores.

去年，加利福尼亚州、佛罗里达州、路易斯安那州和北卡罗来纳州的立法者加大了对从商店偷窃物品的处罚。

Under an amended law in Louisiana, those caught stealing as part of a group could face up to seven years in prison.

根据路易斯安那州的一项修正法律，行窃者一经发现，将面临最高7年的监禁。

对美国零售商们而言，有组织的零售犯罪（Organized Retail Crime，简称OCR）问题的严峻性已经不言而喻。数据显示，2021年因OCR造成的零售业损失超过945亿美元。

美国零售联合会（National Retail Federation，简称NRF）表示，其对大约60家零售商进行的一项最新安全调查发现，去年的库存损失平均为1.4%。

The NRF said that its latest security survey of roughly 60 retailers found that inventory loss — called shrink — averaged 1.4 percent last year.

数据显示，37%的损失来自外部盗窃，包括在有组织的入店行窃中被偷走的商品。而零售商去年遭遇的有组织盗窃事件平均增加了26.5%。

The greatest part — 37 percent — came from external theft, including products taken during organized shoplifting incidents. It also noted that retailers on average saw a 26.5 percent increase in organized theft incidents last year.

有组织的盗窃事件频发，使一些企业主不得不为产品上锁，并增加店内保安数量。

Some business owners were forced to lock up products and double the number of security guards at some stores.

为产品上锁虽然能有效防盗，但对零售营收却于事无补。Indyme是一家向零售商销售安全设备的科技公司，其首席执行官Joe Budano认为，给商品上锁也会使销售额降低15%-25%。

But locking up items also reduces sales by 15-25 percent, according to Joe Budano, CEO of Indyme, a technology company that sells security devices to retailers.

记者：Heng Weili

编辑：左卓

实习生：李嘉薇

来源：中国日报 美国零售联合会（NRF）