“What we’re seeing today requires the government, the community, the retailer, everyone, … including the consumer, to take action,” Johnston said.

bugs-no

  • GenXen [any, any]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    $400 million hit to the retailer’s gross profit margin for the year

    Target’s revenue last year was only $108 Billion, how are they going to survive these catastrophic losses of 0.37% of annual revenue!?

    • Owl [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Comparing revenue to profit doesn’t really work, especially in retail. It’d be 12% of their $2.78 billion profit, if the $400 million number were true (400m / (2.78b + 400m)).

      Target doesn’t bother separating out shoplifting (shrinkage) in their earnings reports though, so whatever the true amount, the company doesn’t actually think it matters.

      Their financials did crater last year, driven by a huge spike in cost of goods sold. Which is the line item where shrinkage would be included, but also where their suppliers all increasing their own prices would go, something we know actually happened last year.

      • 420blazeit69 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        1 year ago

        Note also that “shrinkage,” where it is broken out separately, includes items breaking, spoiling, getting damaged, etc., and also includes employee theft as well as thefts by customers.

      • GenXen [any, any]@hexbear.net
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        1 year ago

        From looking at all of the figures I can find reporting on it, I believe the $2.78 billion figure you have here is off by a factor of 10. I imagine that the shareholders would be screaming bloody murder if a company with over $100 Billion in revenue only had $3 billion in profit.

        • Owl [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          I was going by their earnings report. It’s entirely possible I missed a decimal place or something, but I just took another look at it and it seems right? (If I made a mistake it’s a mistake I made twice, which I am fully capable of doing.)

        • 420blazeit69 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          1 year ago

          over $100 Billion in revenue only had $3 billion in profit

          For a company that’s selling commodities you can get dozens of other places, and that maintains a large retail footprint, that doesn’t sound too far off base.