Target Closes Nine NYC, West Coast Stores to Stop Losses From Rising Theft

Target Corp. is closing nine stores in four states to stem losses from rising retail theft.

One Manhattan location will be shuttered, along with two in Seattle, three in Northern California and three in Portland, Oregon, Target said in a statement Tuesday. The stores will close Oct. 21.

“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance,” the retailer said. “We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all.”

Target has been fuming on its earnings calls for more than a year about losses from theft, which are adding pressure on the company’s slender profit margins. According to the Minneapolis-based company, organized retail crime is spurring an increase in shrink, which is an industry term for inventory losses from external and internal theft, plus goods lost to damage and administrative error. In May, Chief Financial Officer Michael Fiddelke said the annual blow from shrink this year would be $500 million worse than the previous year.

The shares fell 1.7% at 3:15 p.m. in New York. In addition to crime, Target has also been struggling with weakening demand for discretionary goods such as apparel, toys and home furnishings. The company’s stock price has fallen more than 25% this year after a 36% drop in 2022.

Separately, the National Retail Federation said earlier Tuesday that US retailers are closing stores, cutting hours and changing product selections because of an increase in crime. Total losses from shrink edged up to 1.6% of sales last year, the NRF said, versus 1.4% in 2021. However, last year’s rate was in line with the numbers from 2019 and 2020.

Crime is hitting some areas more than others. Target said it made significant investments in the nine locations to deter theft, including beefed-up security staffing and other measures. But this wasn’t enough to control “fundamental challenges to operating these stores safely and successfully.”

The company said it would work with employees at the shuttered stores to offer transfers to other locations. Target will still have more than 150 locations in the four affected markets. The retailer has a nationwide footprint of almost 2,000 stores.

The stores Target plans to close are the following:

New York

• 517 E. 117th St.

Seattle

• 4535 University Way NE
• 1448 NW Market St.

Bay Area

• San Francisco: 1690 Folsom St.
• Oakland: 2650 Broadway
• Pittsburg: 4301 Century Blvd.

Portland

• 939 SW Morrison St.
• 3031 SE Powell Blvd.
• 4030 NE Halsey St.

Photo: Photographer: Rebecca Smeyne/Bloomberg

Topics Trends Fraud Profit Loss