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Kroger joins Buy Safe America Coalition

Multi-sector group takes aim at organized retail crime, sale of counterfeit goods

Russell Redman

September 17, 2021

2 Min Read
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Buy Safe America noted that Kroger fields a dedicated team to investigate organized retail crime.The Kroger Co.

The nation’s largest supermarket retailer, The Kroger Co., has become a member of the Buy Safe America Coalition, an interindustry group that supports initiatives to prevent organized retail crime and the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods.

In announcing its new member yesterday, Washington, D.C.-based Buy Safe America said Kroger has been “at the forefront” of efforts to thwart organized retail crime (ORC) and fields a dedicated crime unit to investigate illicit activity.

Kroger has initiated more than 2,000 ORC cases, according to Buy Safe America, whose partners include retailers, consumer groups, manufacturers and law enforcement. The Cincinnati-based grocery retailer also trains hundreds of thousands of its associates to better understand and identify organized retail crime, the coalition said.

“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,” Mark Stinde, vice president of asset protection at Kroger, said in a statement. “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.”

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Overall, The Kroger Co. operates about 2,750 stores under banners such as Kroger, Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market, Mariano’s, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less and Foods Co. The company totaled sales of $132.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year ended Jan. 30.

Buy Safe America noted that incidence of ORC — namely, the sale of fraudulent goods — has skyrocketed with the growth of e-commerce and online marketplaces operated by such companies as Amazon and Facebook. Citing recent data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the coalition reported that the sale of fake goods alone has swelled into a $509 billion criminal enterprise. This activity has enabled counterfeit, expired and defective products, items made with unsafe levels of chemical substances, and products not meeting U.S. quality and safety standards to flood the market, especially in online channels. Retailer employees also have faced escalating risk as ORC rings “become increasingly violent and brazen,” Buy Safe America said.

The INFORM (Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces) for Consumers Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year, aims to combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit and potentially dangerous consumer products through the verification of high-volume, third-party sellers in e-commerce marketplaces.

Related:9 strategies and techniques to reduce shoplifting

Besides Kroger, retail members of the Buy Safe America Coalition include CVS Health, Walgreens, Rite Aid, The Home Depot, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gap, JCPenney, Lowe’s and Ulta Beauty, as well as industry groups such as the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW).

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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