Co-op Food boss Matt Hood has hit back at supermarket profiteering accusations, claiming it is being used to justify the rocketing surge of shoplifting.
The chief executive told The Telegraph he was “disappointed” people were defending shoplifters after MPs accused the grocers of inflating prices.
The supermarket chain published figures last week showing that police were not responding to more than 70% of callouts over crimes in its shops.
It said cases of anti-social behaviour, crime and shoplifting were up 35% year-on-year as criminal gangs targeted outlets to steal goods such as alcohol, baby formula and coffee.
Hood said: “I was reading some of the comments when we’ve spoken about shoplifting being on the rise and people were saying ‘well, they are making so much money, so what difference does it make?’
“What drives me insane is the amount of people who want to claim it is victimless. Tell me, if that was your child working in that shop, would you say it is a victimless crime because it is fundamentally not.”
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In a bid to deter shoplifters, Co-op has reduced the number of high-value products on display in certain stores as well as placed dummy products on the shelves, directing customers to members of staff.
The recent rise in violence against store staff could also put people off working in retail, Hood said: “If it continues as it is at the moment, it’s going to be an industry that becomes hard for us to bring people into.”
The Co-op boss argued that recent suggestions that shoplifting has risen in recent months because families cannot afford their groceries amid the cost-of-living crises are false.
“No, it’s fundamentally because people are using baby formula to cut drugs. They’re using it for organised crime,” said Hood.
Supermarkets were called into question over their food prices last month after Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused the grocers of “greedflation”.
However, a recent investigation by The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found no evidence of profiteering.
The watchdog said supermarket margins had been pinched by higher food costs and that any drop in wholesale prices were being passed through to consumers.
Hood said he was “not enamoured” by the CMA’s investigation: “The assumption that we are profiteering was never ever going to be found to mean anything.
“This is the most competitive retail environment in the world. There is no other country that has 10 or 11 players all competing for 70 million people’s share of wallet, it just doesn’t exist.”
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