Sticky fingers

Major retail chains in Poland saw a collective loss of $1.6 (zł.4.9) billion last year as a result of theft and waste, according to the second edition of the Centre for Retail Research's Global Retail Theft Barometer report. This was higher than the losses experienced in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and the Baltic States put together.

The cost of waste and stolen goods comprised 1.36 percent of the chains' total revenues which, however, was lower than in Hungary and the Czech Republic. Losses in these countries amounted to 1.38 percent of total revenues.

Retail chains in Poland suffered nearly the highest rate of employee theft in Europe, amounting to 36.1 percent of all losses. This was higher than the global average of 28.5 percent, but on par with the CEE average. Theft by customers in Poland was the lowest in Europe - 39.2 percent of all losses, compared with a European average of 46.8 percent.

"We steal the least as clients, but nearly the most as employees," according to Grzegorz Popek, director of Checkpoint Systems Poland, which sponsored the research. Pilfering from the workplace has long enjoyed social acceptance in the CEE region, as it was, for a long time, a means of coping with communist hardships, Popek explained.

The most common form of employee theft in Poland is for workers to change product price codes or make false product returns based on a receipt, Popek said.

Cosmetics, perfume, alcohol, infant-care products, electronic games and trendy items are among the most commonly stolen goods, according to the report. The trend is similar in Poland and abroad.

Worldwide retail chain losses due to theft and waste amounted to $104.52 (zł.320.25) billion last year, a drop of 1.5 percent on the previous year.