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Professor of Marketing

Katrijn Gielens

Katrijn Gielens is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of international retailing and product innovation. Dr. Gielens teaches courses in international retail management and econometric and market response models. Before she joined UNC Kenan-Flagler, she served on the faculty of the RSM Erasmus University, one of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s OneMBA partners, and Tilburg University.

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Contributor Brief·Katrijn Gielens · 1 article
Updated Sep 19, 2023

Retail theft is eroding store economics, forcing viability recalculation

Gielens argues that rising shoplifting rates are fundamentally challenging the economic logic of physical retail presence, forcing store operators to treat theft as a structural business problem rather than a manageable operational cost. She contends that retailers must now actively weigh whether brick-and-mortar locations remain financially justified given theft-driven margin erosion.

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article examines retail theft's impact on store viability economics

“Rising shoplifting is forcing retailers to reconsider whether physical stores remain economically viable”

Retail Theft is Pushing Stores to Weigh the Risk of Keeping a Physical Presence

Core tension in modern retail economics

Physical store presence required for omnichannel experience1
Theft erosion of store-level unit economics1
E-commerce alternative eliminates in-store theft exposure1

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33%Physical store
Physical store presence required for omnichannel experience
Theft erosion of store-level unit economics
E-commerce alternative eliminates in-store theft exposure

1

structural business threat retailers face from organized theft networks

Theft forces retailers to reconsider store viability assumptions

Retail Theft is Pushing Stores to Weigh the Risk of Keeping a Physical Presence

Physical retail presence becomes question of economic necessity, not tradition

Retail Theft is Pushing Stores to Weigh the Risk of Keeping a Physical Presence

“Shoplifting threatens the basic financial model of brick-and-mortar retail”

Themes:Theft as structural business threat rather than operational costPhysical retail viability under margin pressureEconomic recalculation of store presence necessity

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