Nordstrom CEO says Seattle area is worst market for violent retail shoplifting in the US

King County, Washington is the worst market for retail theft at Nordstrom in the entire US, according to the company’s CEO. Erik Nordstrom told the first King County Public Safety Summit on Organized Retail Crime last week that the retailer's King County stores make up only 3 percent of the department store's global footprint but manage to account for 10 percent of its companywide losses due to theft. There are more than 360 Nordstrom and discount Rack stores.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, Nordstrom told law enforcement officers, politicians, and prosecutors at the summit, held on Microsoft's campus in Redmond to bring together the groups to better combat organized retail theft, "We're born and raised here and huge homers when it comes to anything local. Unfortunately, King County is our worst area for this. It's a big financial headwind."

According to the national retail trade group, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, retailers across the US have reported a spike in theft since 2020, with organized retail theft groups stealing tens of thousands of dollars of goods from multiple stores at one time. In 2021, such theft totaled approximately $3 billion of merchandise losses in Washington state.

Multiple retailers including Goodwill, Target, Nike, Lululemon, and Starbucks, have cited losses from theft when closing stores in Seattle. Nordstrom added, “I think brazen is the right word, and with that is acts of violence, the amount of shoplifters who are weaponized. It could be a gun, knife, pepper spray a lot of times, but also just using their fists."

He continued, "Having trained security guards, there is more that they can do, but we don't want bullets flying around. If the bad guys are willing to push it past a level that the retailer or the security guard is willing to go, that's tough. It's hard to know what to do with that."

He noted that in some cases, the security guards will apprehend a suspected shoplifter but can only hold the individual for a limited time and if police don't respond in that window, the guards have to release the suspects.

Nordstrom said that sneakers, handbags, and sunglasses have become the main targets of organized retail theft rings because of their high resale values.
The retail CEO added that the company has increased spending on combating theft by 65 percent nationwide since 2019. Earlier this year, Washington State was revealed to be the most affected by retail crime in the US and holding the highest burglary rate in the country.