Blame it on the financial crisis
Czechs top the list of Europe’s biggest shoplifters. Last year, almost ten billion crowns (USD 480 million) worth of goods were stolen from shops across the country. Despite a slight drop from the previous year, shoplifting, together with thefts by shop employees, accounted for nearly 1.4 percent of total retail sales, making Czechs Europe’s biggest shoplifters.
“Czechs don’t steal here” read the signs some Austrian and German shopkeepers put up after Czechoslovakia’s borders opened following the fall of communism. Nineteen years later, it seems that the same signs might be useful in shops and supermarkets across the Czech Republic. A study by the British Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham, which caused quite a stir in the Czech Republic, revealed that Czechs top the list of Europe’s shoplifters.
The research compared the value of stolen goods in proportion to total retail sales in 22 European countries. The Czechs placed first, with almost 10 billion crowns worth of stolen merchandise. That accounted for 1.38 percent of total retail sales last year. It was some 0.3 percent less than the previous year, but still enough to defend the country’s top position, ahead of runner-up Hungary and France in third place.
Supermarkets in the United Kingdom, too, have been hit by a shoplifting epidemic following the downturn in the economy, according to reports in the British media. Essential items have become the most common target, suggesting that thieves are increasingly motivated by need rather than greed.
Tesco caught more than 43,000 shoplifters in the first half of this year – an increase of 36 per cent on the same period in 2007.
Retailers are preparing for the peak shoplifting season. The Centre for Retail Research estimates that in the six weeks from mid-November to end-December thieves will steal GBP 768 million from retailers in Britain and EUR 4821 million from Western Europe as a whole.
Pre-Christmas losses are equivalent to a tax upon spending of GBP 12.60 per person in the UK and EUR 11.86 per head in Western Europe. Funnily, Ireland tops the league for the costs of Christmas shoplifting (per head), followed by the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Most shoplifters are males (55.4 percent), but females are greedier. They stole an average of GBP 94.48 compared to the male average of GBP 82.28.
The researchers expect retailers and the police to catch 99,000 shoplifters this Christmas, two-thirds of them will be under 30 years.
The most stolen items are likely to be popular Christmas things like Scotch whisky, Jack Daniels, vodka, and brandy.
Apparently the old saying still rings true that he who has cares has brandy too.
However, woman’s clothing, lingerie, cosmetics, perfumes, toiletries, aftershave, sportswear, DVDs, games, games consoles, fashion accessories, and menswear, will also be stolen extensively.
