Target Is Permanently Closing Stores in Four States Due to Organized Theft & Crime!

Photo by Target

Target is permanently closing its doors, starting with nine stores in four states, due to a surge in crime from organized theft and violence. According to the Washington Post, Target announced, "By Oct. 21, three stores in Portland, Ore., two in Seattle, one in New York, and three in the San Francisco-Oakland area will shut down. Retail crime at those locations has reached a level that threatens safety and "business performance."

The popular retail store opened its first location in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Target's headquarters remain in the Twin Cities. Target's corporate office saw the decision to close stores as the only solution to its growing theft problem. According to CNN, "The NRF, the retail industry’s largest trade group, said Tuesday that average shrink – a term that refers to merchandise that goes missing due to external and internal theft, fraud, damage, and other reasons – cost retailers $112.1 billion in losses in 2022, up from $93.9 billion in 2021. The group said the average shrink rate in 2022 increased to 1.6%, up from 1.4% the previous year."

Other retailers are having problems with organized theft as well. In August, NPR reported, "The Los Angeles Police Department said a "mob of criminals" ransacked a Nordstrom department store in Topanga on Saturday, stealing more than $300,000 worth of products in broad daylight. The smash and grab robbery is at least the third for a California Nordstrom in less than two years." NPR also stated, "More than 30 robbers were involved, and one suspect sprayed bear spray on the face and body of a security guard at the store's entrance, police said. KTLA reported that several suspects with ties to other organized crime robberies in the area were arrested. The store was evacuated when the robbery ended. Another "flash mob" robbery took place in Los Angeles County just days before, at the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale on Aug. 8. The Glendale Police Department said in a statement last week that at least 30 suspects rushed into the store just before 5 p.m. and stole property valued at approximately $300,000. ABC News reports that Nordstrom plans to close 15 stores before the end of 2023.

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