Business
Traditional approaches to managing retail loss have largely focused upon dealing with the issue of shrinkage, a periodic measure dating back over 140 years, that typically captures the difference between expected and actual stock values. Shrinkage calculations offer little, if any, insights into the root causes of loss. As the complexity of retailing continues to accelerate, the capacity to assimilate data and the range of risks retail now faces have increased considerably. Relying upon this single measure of loss to guide strategy is increasingly anachronistic. The Total Retail Loss concept offers a much more progressive and inclusive approach to understanding how retail risks impact profitability. This podcast features Professor Adrian Beck who developed the concept along with Pamela Velose of Belk, Seth Hughes from REI, Rob LaCommare of Big Lots, and Bill Inzeo, formerly of Walgreens and now with Zebra Analytics.The panelists make the case for why adopting this concept will enable retailers to develop a strategic approach to not only recognizing the true cost of retail loss, but also how to return value to the bottom line. However, this path includes many challenges through the change needed in retail.