“Our city is in peril. We have no protection or recourse against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished."

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — Target “continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime,” said Target’s CEO Brian Cornell, reporting that the company’s stores saw a 120% increase in thefts involving violence or threats of violence during the first five months of the 2023 year – and announcing the company is shuttering a total of nine stores in far-left cities where crime has been on the rise during the past three years of the Biden Administration.

“Despite our efforts, unfortunately, we continue to face fundamental challenges to operating these stores safely and successfully,” Target said in a comapany release.

The store closings are effective October 21st.

Earlier this year, Target executives said they expected "Inventory Shrink" – the industry term used to refer to "lost" or "stolen" inventory – to reduce the company’s profitability by more than $500 million compared to last year.

Target said that before making the “difficult decision” to shutter the nine stores, it had invested heavily in “strategies to prevent and stop theft.”

The company said it had added security staffers, hired 3rd-party Guard Services, upped its investments in cyber defense, and even partnered with a U.S. Department of Homeland Security division focused on combatting retail theft.

It has also invested in "locking cases" for products that are prone to theft, the company said.

And Target Corp is not the first major retailer to announce it is closing stores in far-left cities where crime has been on the rise.

• In 2021, Walgreens cited organized and rampant theft as one reason why it was closing stores in San Francisco.
• Whole Foods shuttered its downtown San Francisco store in April, just a year after opening, due to deteriorating street conditions.
• In May, Nordstrom announced it was closing both of its San Francisco stores because crime has made it difficult to do business in the city.

Target Corp. announced Tuesday that it is closing nine stores in four far-left cities because organized retail crime is threatening the safety of employees and customers.

Target's announcement said the company “cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance.”

Saying the company can only be successful “if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” the Target said it will – for starters many analysts fear – be closing:

• 3 Stores each in Portland, Oregon and in the San Francisco & Oakland markets
• 2 Stores in Seattle, and
• 1 New York City store in Harlem

“Our city is in peril,” the shop wrote. "Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state.

"We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished.

"Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses.”