Kroger Joins Buy Safe America Coalition
The Kroger Co. has become the latest member of the Buy Safe America Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based group of retailers, consumer organizations, manufacturers and law enforcement backing efforts to fight organized retail crime and protect consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods.
“As retailers nationwide continue to battle organized retail crime, Kroger looks forward to partnering with the Buy Safe America Coalition to put an end to this public safety risk,” noted Mark Stinde, Kroger’s VP of asset protection. “We are proud to support the coalition’s efforts to pass the INFORM Consumers Act, which will bring much-needed accountability to online marketplaces filled with goods stolen from store shelves.”
According to the coalition, organized retail crime costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars annually. The stolen items are often sold on online e-commerce platforms, where there’s minimal verification of seller identities. Store employees have also been put at serious risk as organized retail crime rings grow increasingly violent and brazen.
For its part, Kroger has a designated crime unit dedicated to preventing these sprees. The grocer has initiated more than 2,000 organized retail crime cases, and trains associates to better understand and recognize the hallmarks of such crimes.
Kroger joins a growing list of companies that are already members of the Buy Safe America Coalition, among them The Home Depot, HP, GSK, CVS Health, Rite Aid and Walgreens.
Cincinnati-based Kroger, which employs nearly half a million associates who serve 11 million-plus customers daily through a digital shopping experience and almost 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens is No. 5; Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Health is No. 7; and Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid is No. 19 on PG's list.
