The picture above is of a different location than the picture below in this article. At least 6 stores in this region have been burglarized in the last six months.
As Nike has increased pressure on wholesale accounts with their Consumer Direct Acceleration, certain stores are being considered valuable partners. Hibbett Sports is one of those retail accounts. The decision making of Hibbett Sports, from their rollout of e-commerce to the acquisition of City Gear are some of the best business decisions in retail. The thing that makes them different from their retail peers, their standalone stores, however, is causing problems. The standalone locations, which are often located in strip malls, have seen a rash of burglaries creating an extremely difficult problem for the chain.
One of the benefits of a standalone store is that in difficult times (like the quarantine), the stores can continue to operate via Shop Online/Pick up in Store strategies. Hibbett Sports also has some of the best policies for their employees and their payscale is comparable to the best stores in sneaker retail. Even with their higher wages, and excellent strategies, finding employees is becoming more difficult as the reputation of the company is taking a hit due to smash and grabs, break-ins and theft. In an atmosphere where stores are becoming targets, Hibbett Sports has to constantly hold hiring fairs. There are locations of both Hibbett Sports and City Gear working on skeleton crews. Some locations aren’t open during normal hours.
Memphis Police said the suspects stole $12,000 worth of clothing from Hibbett Sports on Shelby Drive. Source: Burglars caught on camera crashing into a store to steal clothing
This isn’t solely a Hibbett Sports problem. Mall based retailers of athletic apparel and footwear are also facing snatch and grab theft. Local Foot Lockers were targeted by a robbing crew who moved from mall to mall. Finish Line has offset this issue with a redesign of their stores with cages (compartmentalized closet style display cases) which require customers to shop in sight lines from the front of the store to the registers. With the changes taking place in retail, the next battle ground will be Merchandising to diminish theft. Loss Prevention is working overtime and as the spring months arrive this will be a problem to watch.