Field day for thieves

The European retail trade suffers annual losses of € 30.3 bn as the result of theft and shrinkage. DIY retailing is one of the most badly affected sectors. Losses here increased to 1.75 per cent of sales in July 2002, according to the second European Theft Barometer issued by the Centre of Retail Research in Nottingham. Half a year previously the rate of shrinkage still stood at 1.68 per cent.