On Coles’ Christmas wish list: Fix retail crime in Victoria

2 hours ago 2

Coles chief executive Leah Weckert has urged the Victorian premier to crack down on thieves targeting retailers as the grocery giant prepares for the busy Christmas trading period.

Weckert, who was among nearly two dozen retail chief executives who signed an open letter last month demanding Jacinta Allan implement “urgent reforms” to deal with the problem of retail crime in Victoria, said the problem had “got to a level that’s unacceptable”.

Coles chief executive Leah Weckert at the Christmas launch in Sydney on Thursday.

“What we would hope is that [the Victorian Government] would consider starting to put in place some legislative measures which may be aligned with some of the best practice that we’ve seen in other states around the country,” Weckert said.

As Coles prepares for the Christmas period, typically the busiest time of year for retailers, Weckert said she expected theft levels to remain. “There is still an unacceptable level of aggressive interactions with our team,” said Weckert.

“Victoria is certainly the place [where] we’ve seen the biggest increase in threatening situations. It’s also the place that we see the highest levels of theft.”

The open letter sent on August 26 called the Allan government to reinstate its retail crime unit, introduce legislation to rein in repeat offenders, and implement a digital platform to report incidences online.

Weckert said the letter had “only recently been received” by the Allan government and said conversations on the matter were still in the early stages.

She pointed to South Australia as the “gold standard” for tackling retail crime. The state has introduced legislation to combat assault and set up a dedicated police taskforce leading to thousands of charges.

“What we’re asking for here is [for the government] to look at changes to the legislative framework so that it enables police to be able to take different measures than what they’re able to take today.”

Allan’s office has been contacted for comment.

Organised crime syndicates are behind a surge in retail theft.

Supermarkets and retail groups have reported alarming retail crime figures and say an intricate network of criminal groups is behind it. Professional thieves wielding weapons have learnt to take advantage of retailers’ instructions to staff not to resist and to stay out of harm’s way as they walk out with trolleys of groceries, armfuls of merchandise or cash.

Coles has made headway in stemming losses from systemic theft by rolling out camera monitoring self-service checkouts (“skip scan”), automated security gates (“smart gates”), and “bottom of trolley” technology across hundreds of stores.

Weckert’s comments came on the day the company launched its Christmas range of 340 products, 225 of which are new.

The supermarket has ramped up its home-brand offerings across its value, middle, and “Coles Finest” tiers to appeal to households feeling more optimistic after three interest rate cuts this year.

“We’ve actually seen about 12 per cent of customers say that they are going to spend more this Christmas, which is, I think, a good early sign of some renewed confidence for customers,” said Weckert.

During the worst of the cost-of-living crisis, Aldi attracted customers away from Woolworths and Coles, which were accused of price-gouging amid high inflation.

Coles has responded by investing heavily into its own-brand range, which now makes up just over a third of sales.

“I think over the last decade or so, the quality of homegrown products has got a lot better,” Weckert said.

“The experience that [customers have] had is that it’s really great quality. They enjoy eating it, and so they come back and buy it again.”

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