Theft from supermarket shelves in Greece is costing retailers an estimated
Theft from supermarket shelves in Greece is costing retailers an estimated €120 million annually — about 1% of sales and nearly equal to the industry’s entire net profit margin of 1.5%. Executives say the financial hit highlights the thin margins of food retailing and the mounting global challenge of “retail shrinkage.”
Retail Shrinkage as a Global Pressure Point
Retail shrinkage — the industry term for inventory losses due to theft, fraud, or administrative error — has become a major concern for chains worldwide. In the United States, shrinkage accounted for about 1.6% of sales in 2022, or roughly $112 billion in losses. In Europe, rates range from 1.1% in Germany to 1.7% in Italy, averaging around 1.4% across the continent.
By comparison, Greece’s supermarkets lose around 2% of sales inside stores, half from spoilage of fresh produce and half from outright theft — making theft alone nearly as costly as total shrinkage rates seen elsewhere.
Industry sources told Oikonomikos Tachydromos that without substantial investment in surveillance and anti-theft technology, Greece’s shrinkage level could have reached 5% of sales, an existential threat to profitability in a sector where net margins rarely exceed 2%.
From Olive Oil to Parallel Markets
Theft patterns have evolved over
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