The items stolen most often from Migros

Items not paid for are always disappearing from our store. This is extremely frustrating and distressing for the whole team. Most importantly, it costs the company money. The vast majority of our customers behave in an exemplary way.

I've managed all sorts of very different Migros stores over the past 13 years – a very small one in the upmarket district of Zürichberg, one in Zurich city centre on Albisriederplatz as well as a rural store in Affoltern am Albis. And let me tell you something, shoplifting happens everywhere.

Repeat offenders banned from the store

Shoplifting rates go up towards the end of the month before people get their next wage packet. Expensive items, such as meat and cosmetics products, are amongst the most frequently stolen. When I confront customers about not having paid for goods, they react in all sorts of different ways – some are embarrassed, while others simply deny everything. We ban repeat offenders from the store and call in the police.

Kilos of meat stolen

One particularly brazen shoplifter struck on a Saturday afternoon a few years ago. I had a call from the police who wanted to know if I was missing some beef and pork steaks. They had arrested a man on Langstrasse, Zurich's party street, who was selling meat from Migros by the kilo. Then when I checked our stock levels, I noticed a significant shortfall. Although the goods were confiscated from him, we were unfortunately unable to sell them due to quality and food safety reasons. Seeing food wasted in this way was even more upsetting than the shoplifting itself.