Aiming to close? Shoplifters in San Francisco Target strike every 10 MINUTES: Helpless staff watch thieves stuff bags full of food, lipstick and nail polish as a low-crime city suffers an emptying of stores
- Employees say the San Francisco store near Union Square is stolen every ten minutes
- Workers have said they watch people ‘shovel’ items into bags and as a result several products are now placed behind plastic barriers.
- It comes after a number of major chains announced they would close their stores in San Francisco due to rising crime rates
Employees at a San Francisco Target store say they are robbed every 10 minutes as the city faces an exodus of stores due to theft.
Employees have said they saw individuals actively “scooping” goods into bags before leaving.
Multiple products, including shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes and some foods, are now stored behind barriers that require staff to open them.
But other goods, including trays of lipstick and nail polish, are cleaned daily by shoplifters, raising fears the store may be next to flee San Francisco’s rapidly emptying downtown.
An employee at the store at the Metreon, a shopping center near Union Square in San Francisco, said the San Francisco standard: ‘You see it every 10 minutes.
Pictured: Target near the Metreon that staff say is stolen every ’10 minutes’
San Francisco has been plagued by a series of store closures since the pandemic as the city failed to address rising crime and drug problems
“Look in one corner of the store and you’ll see people shoveling stuff into a bag — food, cosmetics.”
An anonymous employee told the news site: “It’s sad to see someone have to steal diapers for their child.
According to the news site, the staff member said they regularly see people who appear to be homeless and bring food and sometimes eat it in the shop.
Another employee said they saw empty candy wrappers, soda cans and occasionally liquor bottles in the store.
They said, ‘I understand; they have to eat.’
According to an employee, tin foil and over-the-counter birth control pills are sought after by shoplifters.
The foil would be used to help drug users smoke fentanyl, an employee said.
Video footage of a nearby target has been shared on social media showing that large amounts of their stockpile are now behind barriers.
Another store in town has also resorted to placing large quantities of products behind barriers
Grooming products including bars of soap and body are on display here at a Target in town
One employee said they commit at least 10 thefts a day and it happens every 10 minutes
It comes after retail giant Nordstrom announced they were closing all of their branches in the city.
The company said it would close all remaining stores in the coming months due to the city’s “changing dynamics.”
In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing all of their locations, with Anthropologie and Office Depot also making the same decisions.
These stores joined the growing list of stores that have left the coastal city, including H&M, Marshall’s, Gap and Banana Republic.
Whole Foods had opened a new “flagship” location in March last year on Trinity Place in the city’s Tenderloin District.
The company had hoped to revive visitor numbers after two years of COVID-19 restrictions severely affected business in the area.
A year later, the organic food giant stated that they would be closing their store “for the time being” due to safety concerns.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Target for comment.