San Francisco mayor London Breed has disputed Walgreen's claims it needs to shutter five stores in the city because its soft laws on shoplifting have led to rampant theft, claiming that the big chain was simply trying to slash costs and increase profits - and that retail theft was an easy scapegoat.
Mayor London Breed told reporters last week that she thinks 'there are other factors that come into play' and San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston tweeted that the pharmacy chain has 'long-planned to close hundreds of locations.'
The national chain has closed 17 of its 70 San Francisco locations in the past two years and cited the shelf raiders, who have swiped every kind of product not behind lock and key.
But the pharmacy chain insists that San Francisco's rampant crime is to blame, revealing it spends 46 times as much on security at its city stores, which face five times as many shoplifting incidents compared with those elsewhere in the country.
San Francisco elected officials, including Mayor London Breed (pictured above), are claiming that Walgreens is using shoplifting as a false narrative to close stores for cost efficiency reasons
Walgreens announced Friday that it is closing another five of its stores in San Francisco and cited constant shoplifting as the reason. One of the stores closing, pictured above, was subject of a viral video showing a man filling a garbage bag full of goods as security guards watched and let him go
Shoplifting incidents occurred at irregular levels across the five locations that are closing, according to data compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle and obtained from the San Francisco Police Department
Walgreens officials have cited 'organized retail crime' - in which the thieves sell the swiped merchandise outside the stores - as a main reason for the most recent closures.
Asked to provide the Daily Mail with an explanation for the closings, a Walgreens spokesperson referred back to a statement sent to media outlets Friday, which read, 'Due to ongoing organized retail crime, we have made the difficult decision to close five stores across San Francisco. Each store will transfer prescriptions to a nearby Walgreens location within a mile radius and we expect to place the stores' team members in other nearby locations.'
The statement continues, 'Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco. Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average. During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment.'
Shoplifting incidents occurred at irregular levels across the five locations that are closing, according to data compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle and obtained from the San Francisco Police Department.
San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston tweeted that the pharmacy chain has 'long-planned to close hundreds of locations'
One closing store, on Ocean Avenue, only reported seven shoplifting incidents this year and a total of 23 since 2018. Another closing store, on Gough Street, was hit by shoplifters 45 times so far this year alone and 85 times since 2018. The same store went a full year in 2019 without any incidents, the data shows. However, not all shoplifting incidents are reported to police.
Walgreens has 53 stores across San Francisco as of now, compared to only 22 CVS stores. Mayor London Breed noted that the chain could be moving to consolidate space, but it using the shoplifting narrative to avoid pushback for closing certain stores that some say are a staple of their community.
'They are saying (shoplifting is) the primary reason, but I also think when a place is not generating revenue, and when they're saturated — S.F. has a lot of Walgreens locations all over the city — so I do think that there are other factors that come into play,' Mayor London Breed told reporters last week.
Walgreens told shareholders four years ago that it planned to close 600 stores nationwide and ended up closing 769, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Illinois-based company said in a 2019 U.S. Security and Exchange Commission filing that it would shutter 200 stores, or fewer than 3 percent of its 10,000 U.S. locations in a cost-saving measures projected to save $1.5 billion in annual expenses by 2022.
Supervisor Dean Preston posted a series of tweets Friday, following national media coverage about the closure of the five San Francisco stores, in which he wrote, 'Walgreens has announced it will be closing its 300 Gough store in my district, citing organized retail theft. This store serves important needs of neighborhood residents. Media reports have accepted without analysis Walgreens' assertion that it's closing due to retail theft.'
The surge in shoplifting arose after a local law downgraded the theft of property less than $950 in value from a felony charge to a misdemeanor in 2014, meaning security guards don't risk trying to apprehend perpetrators
He referenced the 2019 SEC filing from the company and asked, 'So is Walgreens closing stores because of theft or because of a pre-existing business plan to cut costs and increase profits by consolidating stores and shifting customers to online purchases?'
Preston added that his office is 'seeking further clarity on the reasons for the announced closures and whether there is a path to keeping the 300 Gough store open. We thank community members for reaching out and emphasizing their desire for a pharmacy in the neighborhood.'
Preston said to the San Francisco Chronicle, 'Two things are true: Walgreens has experienced retail theft, and Walgreens has long planned to close stores. We do not know which factor or factors led to the decision to close 300 Gough and other San Francisco stores.'
The Walgreens locations that will be closing include: 2550 Ocean Avenue, on November 8, 4645 Mission Street, on November 11, 745 Clement Street, on November 15, 300 Gough Street on November 15, and 3400 Cesar Chavez Street on November 17.
Viral videos taken throughout the summer have shown shoplifters brazenly sauntering out of stores with armfuls of stolen goods as witnesses watch in shock.
Shoplifting has been a problem in the Democrat-run state since 2014 - following the passage of Proposition 47, a ballot referendum known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act - that downgraded the theft of property worth less than $950 in value from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Cases have jumped during the pandemic as store staff and security guards choose not to pursue the thieves. Larceny and theft remain the most common crimes committed in San Francisco, increasing by about 8 percent from last year. There were 21,842 cases reported through October 10 of this year, compared with 20,254 cases during the same time through 2020.
City and Walgreens officials have cited a reason for the closures as a spike in 'organized retail crime,' in which the thieves sell the stolen merchandise on the same streets as the stores from which they pilfered
Walgreens has closed 17 San Francisco locations due to shoplifting cases, where theft in the pharmaceutical chain's 53 remaining stores is four times the average for stores elsewhere in the country, according to the San Francisco Chronicle
The Walgreens at 3400 Cesar Chavez Street will be closing on November 17
Each of the five stores that are closing will transfer prescription information to another store in close proximity and the chain intends to relocate employees from closing stores to other nearby ones.
Ahsha Safai, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, posted a series of tweets following news of the upcoming closures, writing, '@Walgreens will be closing 5 additional stores in San Francisco - including the one located at 4645 Mission St in the Excelsior.'
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