Best Buy Tightens Security, CEO Warns of Impact on Employee Retention

Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said she thinks a glut of thefts could end up having a ripple effect on employee retention, CNBC reported.

Best Buy has seen a trend of people entering its stores to steal consumer electronics, sometimes bringing weapons along, Barry said in the report. The thefts have been hurting company profits.

Barry said the company makes the safety of customers and employees a priority, according to the report. Sometimes that means letting criminals leave with thousands of dollars of products.

Best Buy has been locking up some of its merchandise and hiring security guards for some locations, working with retail trade groups to find solutions, the report stated.

The popular tech giant saw better-than-expected fiscal earnings in the third quarter, but shares fell Tuesday (Nov. 23) as investors worried about lessening demands for consumer electronics and higher supply chain costs, along with bigger promotion efforts, according to the report.

On an earnings call, Barry said there have been some “hot spots” for crimes, including San Francisco and various other parts of California, the report stated.

Some of the cases, she said per the report, have involved “more than a dozen” people rushing in and stealing goods all at once.

Many employees have been looking for other jobs, she said in the report, which could partially be because of theft incidents in which people are threatened while at work.

“And it’s hard to deal with this potentially multiple times in one location,” she said, according to the report.

Also on the earnings call, Barry said Best Buy has also geared its attention toward small-format locations, more healthcare work and more virtual stores.

Read more: Best Buy Pins Future Sales On HealthTech, Virtual Stores

She said there is more consumer desire for convenience, and retailers have had to adapt through more in-depth use of the “omnichannel” means, with more customer service and better integration of tech operations.