John McCracken says he was shocked when he recently spotted a new sign at his local Loblaw-owned Superstore just outside Halifax, warning customers the store was conducting receipt checks when shoppers exit.
“I was really disgusted. I thought it was really adding insult to injury after all the price gouging,” said McCracken, referring to claims Loblaw has inflated grocery prices — which the retailer denies.
Several shoppers complained to CBC News about receipt-check signs they spotted within the past two weeks at their Loblaw-owned grocer, including Loblaws and Zehrs stores in Ontario. Each of those signs has now disappeared, but Loblaw won’t say if it has abandoned receipt checks, which can be unpopular with shoppers and difficult to enforce.
“I don’t like the approach,” said Zain Ismail, who says he was taken aback when he saw two receipt-check warning signs while shopping at a Zehrs in Windsor.
He said an employee checked shoppers’ receipts — but not bags — as they left the store at a designated exit with gates on either side.
“It kind of makes you feel like a criminal,” said Ismail. “I wasn’t exactly sure what triggered Loblaws to do this.”
McCracken saw this sign warning about receipt checks when entering Superstore just outside Halifax on June 4. (submitted by John McCracken)
Loblaw Companies Ltd. provided no details about the receipt checks, except to say in an email to CBC News that the signs were posted in select stores to inform customers about “a change in practice at the location.”
According to wording on the signs, the purpose of the receipt checks is to “validate and maintain inventory accuracy.”
“‘Inventory accuracy’ is a tongue-in-cheek way, I think, of saying, ‘There’s a lot of [theft] going on in the store,'” said criminal lawyer Kyla Lee.
She says retailers typically introduce receipt checks, along with accompanying bag searches, as a theft deterrent.
Although it has no hard data, the Retail Council of Canada says shoplifting is on the rise due to a growing resale market for stolen goods, an increase in organized crime, and escalating inflation.
Despite the reported rise in theft, industry experts told CBC News receipt checks may not be a wise solution. Lee said they generally aren’t enforceable by law and can lead to legal issues for retailers, including human rights complaints.
And they can generate bad PR, said Toronto-based retail consultant Bruce Winder.
“It sends a really negative message to consumers that retailers don’t trust their shoppers,” he said.
Following complaints, including on social media, about the receipt-check signs, all shoppers CBC News interviewed said the signs and any evidence of receipt checks are now gone from their stores.
Loblaws knows we’re all out here stealing from them because they’re greedy <a href=”https://t.co/HqTJKvf2Dm”>pic.twitter.com/HqTJKvf2Dm</a>
McCracken said he complained to his Superstore’s manager and, that same day, the sign vanished.
“It’s a small victory,” he said.
Rather than answering questions about whether it has abandoned receipt checks, Loblaw defended the policy, telling CBC News it’s “not unusual throughout the retail industry.”
Walmart Canada uses a variety of measures to manage and prevent theft “which can include receipt-checking,” said spokesperson Felicia Fefer in an email.
Lee said a major problem with receipt checks is that law-abiding shoppers are under no legal obligation to comply.
“In Canadian law, store employees or staff are not allowed to physically stop you from leaving or search your belongings unless they actually witness you commit an offence,” she said. “You are free to walk past a receipt check, out the store.”
She said the exception is when shoppers exit a retailer such as Costco which can enforce receipt checks because people agree to them when they sign up for the required store membership.
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Lee said the practice is also problematic because of the potential for racial profiling.
“More vulnerable groups might be targeted for receipt checks, both because there are unfortunately biases, both conscious and unconscious, when it comes to racialized individuals,” said Lee, who works with Acumen Law Corporation in Vancouver.
In the United States, Marshae Jackson is suing Walmart, claiming that, following a receipt check in 2021, she was wrongfully accused of shoplifting due to her race. She is Black.
U.S. Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.
Theft and self checkout
Customers McCracken and Ismail believe some Loblaw stores may have initiated receipt checks in response to a spike in intentional or unintentional theft caused by the expansion of self-checkout machines.
“Consumers aren’t cashiers and these machines are actually not easy to use,” said Ismail. “The barcodes don’t always scan.”
Zain Ismail said he felt like a criminal when he saw a sign at Zehrs in Windsor warning shoppers it was conducting receipt checks. (CBC/Sophia Harris)
“It’s a lot easier to shoplift when you’re checking out your products yourself,” said Winder.
The Retail Council says it has no data on self-checkout theft and that it’s working with retailers on loss prevention strategies. It didn’t mention if those strategies include receipt checks.
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HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
