Walgreens to Close 5 Stores in San Francisco, Citing ‘Organized’ Shoplifting

He was picked up by a security guard and a television reporter, but the thief didn’t let that deter him and rummaged through a Walgreens store in San Francisco on a bicycle, a garbage bag full of stolen goods in hand.

Millions watched a brazen shoplifting video in June, which critics said illustrated the shoplifting epidemic that had plagued retailers across the city. It was at least the fifth time the man, who was later arrested on a string of burglary and theft allegations, targeted that Walgreens store on Gough Street in the Hayes Valley neighborhood, authorities said.

Now, four months later, Walgreens says it will close that store and four more in San Francisco next month, citing what it calls the ongoing problem of “organized” shoplifting in the city.

“Organized retail crime remains a challenge for retailers across San Francisco,” said Phil Caruso, a spokesman for Walgreens, in an email on Wednesday. “Retail theft at our San Francisco stores has increased five times our chain average over the past few months.”

Walgreens said its San Francisco stores have been attacked by professional thieves who resell the stolen goods primarily through online marketplaces. The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that law enforcement officials have attributed much of the city’s retail crime to organized theft rings.

Next to the store at 300 Gough Street, the Walgreens locations that are going to be closed are at 2550 Ocean Avenue; 4645 Mission Street; 745 Clemens Street; and 3400 Cesar Chavez Street, the company said.

Walgreens officials previously said at a board hearing in May that it closed 17 stores, mainly because theft had made deals at those locations unsustainable.

Ahsha Safaí, a member of the San Francisco board of directors, said on Twitter Tuesday that the closure of the Walgreens store at 4645 Mission Street would leave a huge void.

“I am utterly devastated by the news – this Walgreens is less than a mile from seven schools and has been a staple food for seniors, families and children for decades,” said Mr. Safaí. The city, he added, “must act with urgency to reduce and prevent the number of incidents of commercial retail theft.”

Walgreens said it had increased its “security investments” in its San Francisco stores “to 46 times our chain average in order to create a safe environment.”

The San Francisco Mayor’s London Breed office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for Chesa Boudin, the San Francisco prosecutor, said in an email on Wednesday that in addition to tracking down shoplifting incidents, the office has worked with the California Highway Patrol and ALTO, an organization that combats retail theft.

“Our office takes retail theft very seriously and we have taken several steps over the past year to better prevent and prosecute these crimes,” said spokeswoman Sara Yousuf. “Last year, our Retail Theft Task Force worked with law enforcement partners on an operation that recovered more than $ 8 million in stolen items.”

Ms. Yousuf said the city is making progress in combating such theft.

“While the theft rates in San Francisco are lower than in 2019, Attorney Boudin is committed to working every day to make San Francisco even safer,” she said.

A spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department referred Walgreens questions on the matter.

The closings scheduled for November will bring the number of Walgreens stores that have closed in San Francisco in recent years to 22, according to the company. Walgreens has more than 50 stores in the city, The Chronicle reported.

Walgreens announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2019 that it would close 200 locations in the United States as part of a cost-cutting initiative.

Employees at the five stores in San Francisco, which will close next month, will continue to work at other Walgreens locations, and customers will have their recipes transferred to nearby stores, the company said.

On June 19, San Francisco police said they had arrested the man from the shoplifting video that was filmed at the Walgreens location on Gough Street. Investigators said they linked the man, Jean Lugo-Romero, 40, to a series of thefts from traders in the Northern and Mission counties.

Mr Lugo-Romero faces robbery and burglary charges on five separate occasions in which he targeted the Walgreens store on Gough Street, including four consecutive days in late May and early June, authorities said .

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Lugo-Romero had a lawyer. The San Francisco Public Defender office in San Francisco did not respond immediately Wednesday.