Supermarket chain Jumbo says shoplifting exceeds annual profits

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the Retail sector myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo has said that shoplifting exceeded its annual profits last year, highlighting how the cost of living crisis has driven up crime and is hurting businesses.

The group said on Wednesday that theft cost it more than €100mn in 2023, against expected annual post-tax profit of about €80mn.

Retailers worldwide have reported an increase in shoplifting as soaring inflation raised prices faster than wages. Chains including Primark, the clothing retailer, John Lewis, the UK department store, and Target of the US have complained of a growing problem.

Jumbo chief executive Ton van Veen told news agency ANP the losses came to about 1 per cent of turnover and exceeded profits, which would be slightly below last year’s €80mn after tax.

In a statement he said the company would tighten security to cut losses and protect staff who were “confronted with unpleasant situations and increased tensions”. He said camera surveillance and the number of security guards would be increased. “I want to create a safer environment for employees and customers in the store,” he said. 

The family-owned business would not scrap its self-checkout or portable self-scan barcode readers, a spokeswoman said. Some analysts have highlighted the ease with which customers can steal goods through these routes.

But van Veen told ANP they were not the only techniques employed by shoplifters. 

“We often catch people not scanning products, or not paying at the cash register. People are becoming increasingly sophisticated in not paying for products. You sometimes fall over in shock to witness how creative people are to take products without paying.

“This is a growing problem and we are appealing to politicians to address this,” he said. The shoplifters were increasing prices for others, he said. 

Total turnover at Jumbo, which has 725 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium, rose to €11bn, 7.3 per cent higher than the year before.

That was lower than the overall market growth of 7.6 per cent in the Dutch supermarket sector, according to NielsenIQ.

The group’s market share fell to 21 per cent as it was squeezed by the bigger Ahold Delhaize group, as well as by Lidl and Aldi. 

Van Veen, who took over in March, said he would take the chain back to basics as a discount retailer of quality products, the vision of Karel van Eerd, the co-owner who launched its first supermarket in the 1980s.

“We work on full, pleasant stores, with a wide, fresh and responsible product range at undeniably low prices and with employees who have a passion for the customer.”