Walgreens CEO Admits Locking Up Products Backfired, Sales Decreased
In a Q1 2025 earnings call, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth admitted that its approach to tackling shoplifting at its stores has backfired. Per Fortune, Wentworth spoke about the state of the company,
Walgreens CEO admits anti-theft measures hurt sales: ‘When you lock things up, you don’t sell as many of them’
The top executive at Walgreens lamented the loss of sales from putting items like toothpaste behind lock and key to crack down on rampant shoplifting that has plagued pharmacy chains around the country.
Walgreens CEO Says Locking up Items to Deter Theft Not Effective
Walgreens CEO discusses the ongoing struggle with theft prevention in stores, citing locking items as ineffective.
Walgreens CEO says locking up merchandise harmed sales
"When you lock things up … you don't sell as many of them. We've kind of proven that pretty conclusively," Wentworth said. "I don't have anything magnificent to share with you today. It is a hand-to-hand combat battle still,
Walgreens CEO reveals anti-theft measures of locking up products had the opposite effect
CEO Tim Wentworth admitted in a recent fiscal report call that combatting shoplifting by locking up items has led to customer dissatisfaction.
Walgreens says locking up products from shoplifters hurt sales
Keeping products under lock and key dissuaded customers from purchasing them, Walgreens said in earnings call.
Anti-shoplifting effort is hurting sales, Walgreens says
Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Duane Reade, acknowledged to investors during a Jan. 10 earnings call that the company's asset protection tactic of locking merchandise to prevent retail theft has slowed sales.
Walgreens CEO says anti-shoplifting strategy backfired: ‘When you lock things up…you don’t sell as many of them’
Walgreens' CEO talked about the flip side of investing in increased security on a recent earnings call.
Walgreens Says Its Strategy to Prevent Shoplifting Has Backfired
Walgreens has come to find out that both shoplifters and customers are turned off when items are locked away. In an earnings call on Tuesday, the drug store’s CEO Tim Wentworth blamed declining sales on locked up items: “When you lock things up
Walgreens CEO: Stopping shoplifting is a "hand-to-hand combat battle"
Walgreens is struggling to deter shoplifting at its stores, according to CEO Tim Wentworth, who described it as "a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately." Wentworth spoke to analysts during a first-quarter earnings call on Friday,
Walgreens used this strategy to reduce theft. Turns out, it was bad for business
Over the years the pharmacy chain used strategy to combat shoplifting. Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said the company’s ...
Locking up products to combat shoplifting is bad for business, drugstore CEO reports
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While many big-box chains now lock up merchandise as a means of combatting theft -- requiring shoppers ...
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Walgreens' Turnaround Takes Shape in Midst of Significant Q1 Losses
Walgreens, like other companies in the retail pharmacy space, has struggled with challenges related to low reimbursement and ...