Unprecedented levels of violence featuring knife-wielding shoppers has forced the head of a major supermarket chain to consider closing stores.
Ritchies IGA chief executive Fred Harrison said it was getting harder to keep his staff and customers safe from armed thieves, as retail crime hits ‘crisis point’ in Victoria.
‘People are making decisions to exit the business because there’s that much theft that it is impacting their bottom line, and you can’t expect retailers to remain trading and lose money,’ he told ABC’s 7.30.
‘Is it all-round more profitable, safer, if we just close and walk away?’
Mr Harrison said armed thieves were more brazen in the wake of the Covid pandemic and were comfortable entering stores during daylight hours to take what they wanted.
There are 85 Ritchies IGA stores in Australia, and Mr Harrison said Victoria, which has 52 outlets, was responsible for ’95 per cent’ of the issues his business was facing.
Ritchies IGA is not the only major chain being targeted by armed thieves in Victoria.
Bunnings store manager Olivia, who has worked at the hardware chain for 20 years, said violence had become part of her normal workday.
A theif pulls out a knife at a Woolworths store and walks out with their shopping
A man wearing abuses Bunnings staff as he walks out with a stolen item
Ritchies IGA stores in Victoria may be closing down due to the amount of violence staff have experienced in recent years
‘We had a point where we had local gangs coming into the store,’ she told the ABC.
‘They would come on a very regular basis as well with weapons and just walk straight out of our store with lawnmowers, barbecues, hot water services.’
Bunnings released shocking CCTV footage late last year, which showed staff members being threatened with knives and a shotgun.
In one clip, a man appeared to hold a knife to a staff member’s throat. Staff were also shown being harassed by a naked man, sucker-punched, shoved or manhandled.
Bunnings has since introduced body-worn cameras for staff and security guards to help employees feel more at ease during their shifts.
Woolworths has also created a dedicated position, titled Head of Acts of Violence and Aggression, following a surge in customer-related incidents.
Staff at the supermarket giant can choose to wear body-worn cameras and undertake ‘de-escalation training’ using virtual reality headsets.
Recent crime data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Victoria was the worst state for retail crime, which reached a 21-year high in 2023.
Bunnings staff are often subject to physical abuse from customers
A naked man is seen walking through a Bunnings store harassing staff
There were 595,660 victims of personal and retail theft recorded by police, which was up six per cent from the previous year.
In Victoria, there were 169,673 victims of personal and retail theft in 2024 – a rise of 29 per cent from the previous year.
Daily Mail has contacted Bunnings and Ritchies IGA for further comment.
