Sale of Stolen Goods Costs Shops One Billion Euro

The organization of retailers in the Netherlands ‘PDN’ has reported that the sale of stolen goods costs shops an estimated one billion Euro annually. It estimates that 80% of the shoplifting nowadays aims at selling the stolen goods further. Five years ago this was 50%. About half a billion Euro worth of goods are stolen for further sale. This means that shops lose another half billion because they also have to sell at lower prices. Furthermore retailers have to spend 200 million Euro for security measures. The organization says that the authorities hardly take any action if stolen goods are found.
www.volkskrant.nl/economie/article543547.ece/Heling_kost_winkeliers_1_miljard