Retail bosses are warning that rising levels of shoplifting and violence against staff are deterring young people from entering the sector, deepening the industry’s recruitment crisis.
Jonathan James, owner of James Convenience Retail, which runs around 40 stores under the Select Convenience brand, said fears over safety are making roles less attractive.
“It’s just completely going unchecked and that is having an impact on morale and recruitment,” he explained. “People see in the local paper that shops have been done and staff assaulted. Young people looking for their first job are being told by parents, ‘Do you really want to do that?’”
James said that, for the first time in 25 years, he is designing stores around security and staff protection rather than customer experience.
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