The CEO of a prominent independent supermarket chain is contemplating the closure of stores in Victoria due to escalating violence and aggressive behavior faced by retail workers. Fred Harrison, CEO of Ritchies IGA, stated that retail crime in the state has reached a "crisis point," making it increasingly difficult to manage small businesses while ensuring the safety of staff and customers.

"It's getting to a point now where [at] a number of our stores, you've got to question when leases come up, do we want to remain in this area?" Harrison said in an interview. He expressed concerns about the profitability and safety of continuing operations in certain locations, asking, "Is it all round more profitable, safer if we just close and walk away?"

Harrison noted that since the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of armed theft have surged, with thieves often targeting stores during daylight hours. He emphasized that this issue is not confined to his supermarkets but is prevalent across the retail sector. "People are making decisions to exit the business because there's that much theft that it is impacting their bottom line," he said.

Ritchies IGA operates 85 stores nationwide, with 52 located in Victoria. Harrison remarked that approximately 95 percent of the issues the company faces are concentrated in this state.

In a related account, Olivia, a store manager at Bunnings, described her daily experiences of being verbally abused and threatened by customers. Having worked at Bunnings for over 20 years, she noted a significant rise in organized crime targeting her Melbourne store since the pandemic. "We had a point where we had local gangs coming into the store. They would enter through different entry and exit points," she explained. "They would come on a very regular basis as well with weapons and just walk straight out of our store with lawnmowers, barbecues, hot water services."

Olivia shared that the frequency of attacks on staff had raised concerns among her family about her safety at work. "I've got mothers-to-be, I've got grandfathers, dads, mums, wives, daughters, and for me, I've got that responsibility to make sure that they're all going home safe to their family," she said.

To combat the violence, Bunnings introduced body-worn cameras and tactical guards. Olivia noted that these measures have helped reduce aggressive incidents, making the store safer. "Whilst we have put these measures in place that have made our store the safest it's ever been, we shouldn't have to do that. That's not fair," she stated.

The rise in violence has prompted Woolworths to establish a new department focused on investigating incidents of aggression. Sarah Faorlin, head of Acts of Violence and Aggression at Woolworths, reported that team members experienced over 6,000 incidents last year, marking a 26 percent increase from the previous year. "It's an escalating issue, one that we see right across the country," she said.

Woolworths has also provided staff with body cameras and personal safety alarms, along with de-escalation training using virtual reality. Faorlin emphasized that the responsibility for safety should not fall solely on retail workers. "I think it is completely unacceptable that a retail worker would need to do anything more than what they're doing today in performing their job," she said.

Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that retail crime is on the rise nationwide, with Victoria being the hardest hit. The report revealed that theft reached a 21-year high last year, with 595,660 victims of personal and retail theft recorded, a six percent increase from the previous year. In Victoria alone, there were 169,673 victims of theft in 2024, a 29 percent rise from the previous year.

According to retail crime reporting software company Auror, Victoria experienced a 52 percent increase in threatening crime and a 38 percent rise in violent events towards retailers in 2024 compared to the previous year. The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) expressed deep concern over the rising trend in retail crime, particularly affecting smaller retailers. ARA CEO Chris Rodwell stated, "Their trading volumes are down. And so this theft, for some of them, gets them to a point where it's very hard to conceive for them how they can continue in business."

The ARA is advocating for the introduction of workplace protection orders nationwide, similar to intervention orders, which have reportedly reduced retail crime in the Australian Capital Territory. Rodwell believes these orders could help prevent repeat offenders from returning to stores and committing further crimes.