M&S chairman Archie Norman has said retail bosses should accept that “police aren’t intereseted” in tackling shoplifting.
Norman told LBC that the fashion and home retailer has spent “a lot of money” on its own security as staff “get very little help from the police” during the current shop theft epidemic.
However, he said that incidents at M&S had gone down, which was largely as a result of the business’ own efforts.
“We get very little help from the police. I think we have to accept the police are not interested in this sort of crime anymore. Whether we like it or not, that’s the way it’s gone,” Norman told the radio station.
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“We spent a lot of money on it,” he said, with M&S spending on “store detectives”, as well as camera systems and other technology.
“Not least, because if somebody is threatened, we can intervene.”
Norman also blasted secretary of state Michael Gove, who is to make a decision on whether the retailer can progress with its redevelopment plans of its Marble Arch flagship.
Gove’s previous ruling to block the plans were overruled by the High Court in March, following claims the secretary had “misinterpreted and wrongly applied planning policy” by blocking its proposals.
Norman told LBC that he doesn’t think Gove has “ever been around this building”.
“My invitation to him is you can’t buy a house without seeing it. Come round our buildings. Stand on the roof and see all the carbon emitting devices we have to keep it warm or keep it cool.
“Come and see the concrete core. Come and see how we can’t change a lightbulb without taking precautions because of the asbestos.
“Come and see the Soviet-style concrete slabs at the back and then form your view. Because if you don’t engage, you can’t make a decision on what he presumably thinks are aesthetic grounds,” he added.
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