Target Closing Stores Because of Shoplifting – Are New England’s Stores at Risk?

Hold on to your pumpkin spiced lattes, ladies...Target stores are closing.

No, not all of them. Don't clear out the shelves like during the pandemic (wild times).

All jokes aside, according to an SI Live article, "Target will close nine retail locations across the U.S., citing retail thefts hurting business and safety concerns for its employees."

9 TARGET STORES CLOSING, I REPEAT, 9 TARGET STORES CLOSING...and one is in the Northeast.

I mean, the shoplifting must be pretty outrageous to close stores because of it. And according to executives at Target, the shoplifting and safety concerns are indeed serious enough.

According to SI Live and the New York Times, Target’s chief executive, Brian Cornell, said that the company “continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime."

Specifically, in the first five months of 2023, thefts in Target's stores involving violence or threats of violence rose 120%. So at this point, it is a matter of safety, not just missing goods.

But is closing stores the right move, though? I mean, don't you think more security or maybe more employees might help? I have to assume most of the shoplifting is in response to the self-checkouts...

According to SI Live, the Target Company released this statement:

Before making this decision, we invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft … such as adding more security team members, using third-party guard services, and implementing theft-deterrent tools across our business... Despite our efforts, unfortunately, we continue to face fundamental challenges to operating these stores safely and successfully.

So who is on the chopping block?

That would be three stores in Portland, Oregon, three stores in the San Fransisco area, two stores in Seattle, Washington, and one store in New York – Harlem, to be exact.

So no, New Englanders, your Target stores are not closing anytime soon. The nearest closing store to us is the store in Harlem. Now, go get your pumpkin spice and have a Target run.