Carlos Prudencio named Associate Vice President, Loss Prevention
for Canadian Tire
Carlos was previously the National Manager of Loss Prevention for Sephora before taking this new leadership role. Carlos has also held other loss prevention managerial positions including Regional Loss Prevention Manager for Gap Inc. and for American Eagle Outfitters. Congratulations Carlos!

Jeffrey Freedman named Vice President Technology for Agilence
Freedman brings over 30 years of diverse management and hands-on technical experience in Information Technology and Software Development. In his new role, he is tasked with management of all software development and operational technology infrastructure. Prior to joining Agilence, Freedman was CTO for a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company specializing in eProcurement.

"Agilence's customer community contains some of the best known brands in the world," said Freedman. "I am excited to join the company at a time of such rapid growth and look forward to building software solutions that help our customers improve store performance and increase margin." Congratulations Jeffrey! Read more here

David Pettit named Vice President, Food & Beverage Sales for Agilence
Pettit comes to Agilence with 25 years of experience in sales and business development. In his new role as VP of Sales, he will be responsible for overseeing the Food & Beverage sales organization. Before joining Agilence, Pettit was the Executive Sales Director for Alchemy Systems where he was responsible for developing the go-to-market strategy for the quick service and fast casual markets.

"Agilence is still new to the restaurant world, but has already made a big impact," said Pettit. "We have the right tools, and we have the right people, now it's just a matter of connecting the dots for decision makers across the restaurant space. It's exciting to be on the ground floor as we revolutionize what data can do within the food & beverage industry." Congratulations David! Read more here

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

Pence: 'The best days for American retailers are ahead'
Vice President Mike Pence took the stage at the National Retail Federation's Retail Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. Tuesday to address some of the biggest public policy issues facing the industry. Key on the agenda - tax reform.

"I want to assure you that our president knows as retail goes, so goes America," Pence told a group of roughly 200 mostly small business retailers. "Our administration is very focused on the issues that will encourage economic growth, growth you will need to grow and succeed."

Namely, Pence conveyed President Donald Trump's support for a plan that cuts the corporate tax rate to 15%, implements a territorial tax and brings money back into the United States to grow the economy.

"This president is going to work with this Congress this year, and we are going to pass the largest tax cut since the days of Ronald Reagan," he said to a cheering audience of retailers eager to get down to work on the advocacy front.

Over the next few days, executives attending the summit will move from the Hyatt Regency, where they will discuss positions on tax reform, healthcare and the regulatory environment, to the Hill to meet with dozens of legislators to convey their message. Their biggest lobby effort is against the border adjustment tax, which has been hotly debated in the House of Representatives Ways and Means committee for months.

Pushing back on the retail apocalypse narrative

Matthew Shay, NRF president, also used the summit kick off to push back on an "apocalyptic narrative" conveyed by the media, which has consistently reported on the record number of store closures and bankruptcies announced so far this year.

"The story being told about the retail industry right now is clearly not an accurate story. We need to push back on that narrative," Shay said. "We need to tell the story of an industry that's in transformation for sure, but industry that is not going anywhere anytime soon."

Pence also voiced his optimism for the industry. ​"The NRF slogan sums it up best. Retail means jobs, and the best days for American retailers are up ahead, I promise you." retaildive.com

 
Agilence Adds Key Hires to Executive Leadership Team
New VP's of Technology & Sales provide upward momentum as Agilence continues focus on scalable software solutions and expansion within the global food and beverage industry.

The leader in cloud-based data analytics for store operations and loss prevention, today announced the additions of Jeffrey Freedman as Vice President, Technology, and David Pettit as Vice President, Food & Beverage Sales. These key executive hires bring a depth of strategic expertise as the company accelerates into its next stage of growth. See the full story in press release column below. agilenceinc.com

Chipotle Stock Drops 5% Yesterday
Could Have Predicted This One
Chipotle closes Virginia restaurant - Reopened today - reports of norovirus yesterday
Chipotle Mexican Grill temporarily closed a store in Sterling, Va., Monday after eight reports of norovirus were linked to the restaurant. Thirteen people were sickened.

Chipotle faced an infection crisis nearly two years ago, when E. Coli sickened more than 50 restaurant patrons in California, Washington, Minnesota and several other states, and more than 120 Boston College students were contracted norovirus.

The restaurant shutdown Monday caused Chipotle's stock to drop as much as 7.6 percent, the largest decline in several months. The company is scheduled to report financial results for its second quarter on July 25. At the end it leveled down 5%.

The company says the Sterling restaurant was sanitized during the two days that it was closed.  denverpost.com

Chipotle's customers are fleeing the brand in a 'nightmare scenario' - and they're all wrong
People took to social media on Tuesday to say that the Sterling, Virginia incident was the final straw and that they would never eat at Chipotle again. businessinsidercom

Undercover investigation finds fecal bacteria in ice at McDonald's, KFC,
and Burger King 
A BBC undercover investigation has found fecal bacteria in the ice served at McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC locations in the UK. The news comes weeks after the BBC discovered that samples of iced drinks from Starbucks and two other UK chains - Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero - contained "varying levels of the bacteria."

The coliform bacteria, which is found in human and animal feces, was discovered in three out of 10 ice samples from McDonald's, six out of 10 samples from Burger King, and seven out of 10 samples from KFC.

"Like many UK food retailers, our ice is made by freezing drinking water using commercial ice machines. As the investigation highlights, there are no specific ice production standards in place, only those relating to unfrozen drinking water. We would therefore welcome the introduction of an agreed standard and would be happy to work with relevant industry bodies," a spokesperson for McDonald's told Business Insider. businessinsider.com

How Health Issues Can Impact Business Continuity - 5 Things You Need to Know
Yesterday's Chipotle Scare Perfect Example Of How Human Illness Impacts A Retailer
Security and business continuity managers are monitoring events and their risk to personnel on a real-time basis, but often health threats are not on their radar when it comes to their risk to business operations.

In fact, it's more likely that an infectious disease outbreak could significantly disrupt your workplace than the risk of terrorist attacks, earthquakes and bombings all put together. Over 50 percent of companies have had an infectious disease case in the workplace - so while these events are rarely in the news, they impact operations every day around the world.

The good news is that most health threats are known - we know how to reduce the risk of spreading and how to manage them. Here are five ways you can deal with these health threats and keep your business going:

1. Monitor global health incidents - Your security and crisis management teams are probably already monitoring for civil unrest and terror incidents, but monitoring health threats is also critical. Outbreaks can evolve very quickly and, once active, can last for days, weeks or months. Ensure you have the capability to receive real-time health incident information that you can rely on.

2. Develop an Incident Management Plan - Health threats do not fit into the "all-hazards" approach common in many crisis management plans, since each disease requires its own unique incident management process.

3. Create frequently asked questions documents - Employees will want to know what to do when there is an incident, and they will want to know it fast. As the management team, you need a FAQ document in place for each health threat, so that you can respond quickly to your employees' concerns.

4. Monitor the impact to all your operations - Health incidents are unique because they can impact multiple locations simultaneously. Therefore, you need the ability to track and monitor what is happening locally at all your offices and workplaces.

5. Know who and when to call - Once your documents and plans are in place, it's important to know where your nearest hospital is and maintain contacts with your local public health authority.  securitymagazine.com

Editor's Note: A widespread pandemic would have a significant impact on your entire operation, from your employee population, your customers or lack thereof, and your solution providers partners. Not to mention the increase security risks of theft, vandalism, burglaries, etc. Even a significant flu outbreak would cause loss of sales and store associates. Just look at Chipotle's current scare yesterday which probably was caused by one or two employees coming to work sick.

Walmart Opens Up About Automation
Robots Are Replacing Workers In Retail
Wal-Mart & other large retailers, under pressure from Amazon, turn to technology to do workers' rote tasks
Almost all of Wal-Mart's 4,700 U.S. stores have a Cash360 machine, turning thousands of positions obsolete. Most of the employees in those positions moved into store jobs to improve service, said a Wal-Mart spokesman. More than 500 have left the company. The store accountant is now a greeter at the front door, where she still earns $13 an hour.

"The role of service and customer-facing associates will always be there," said Judith McKenna, Wal-Mart's U.S. chief operating officer, in an interview. But "there are interesting developments in technology that mean those roles shift and change over time."

Shopping is moving online, hourly wages are rising and retail profits are shrinking-a formula that pressures retailers from Wal-Mart to Tiffany & Co. to find technology that can do the rote labor of retail workers or replace them altogether.

Economists say many retail jobs are ripe for automation. A 2015 report by Citi Research, co-authored with researchers from the Oxford Martin School, found that two-thirds of U.S. retail jobs are at "high risk" of disappearing by 2030.

Self-checkout lanes can replace cashiers. Autonomous vehicles could handle package delivery or warehouse inventory. Even more complex tasks like suggesting what toy or shirt a shopper might want could be handled by a computer with access to a shopper's buying history, similar to what already happens online today.

Nearly 16 million people, or 11% of nonfarm U.S. jobs, are in the retail industry, mostly as cashiers or salespeople. The industry eclipsed the shrinking manufacturing sector as the biggest employer 15 years ago. Now, as stores close, retail jobs are disappearing. Since January, the U.S. economy has lost about 71,000 retail jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The decline of retail jobs, should it occur on a large scale-as seems likely long-term-will make the labor market even less hospitable for a group of workers who already face limited opportunities for stable, well-paid employment."

"We want to simplify the stores so that we can free up our associates...so they can focus on selling," Carol Tomé, Home Depot's chief financial officer, said in an interview.

Wal-Mart has long squeezed efficiency out of its business, both in stores and throughout its vast supply chain. Although it employs 1.5 million people in the U.S., it has around 15% fewer workers per square foot of store than a decade ago.

Several of Wal-Mart's recent published patent applications propose technology to improve customer service, including a system that uses facial recognition to detect customer dissatisfaction and adjust staffing accordingly. Jobs at hundreds of stores are shifting to support new services such as grocery pickup for digital orders.

In two stores, Wal-Mart is testing touch-screen displays that show shoppers the differences between devices like internet-connected speakers and thermostats. "We don't need an associate to understand how that works, but the associate is there to service customers and check them out," said Ms. McKenna. wsj.com
 
They are capturing the fall of legacy retailers in real time. Is your store next?
Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio - The Most Requested Location
Dan Bell and Erik Pierson feel your pain. The two online video stars are chronicling, to a growing YouTube audience, the decline of stores nationwide. Pierson specializes in shooting video inside struggling stores; Bell has made a name for himself showing malls in their final stages of demise.

"I've had nothing but negative experiences from retail," he said. "Malls contact me and are livid they are featured but the reality is, what are they going to do?"

He also checks out the financial reports of stores. That has stopped him from filming sites that might not be doing so great where he is, but that are doing well elsewhere.

For Bell, preserving malls in digital form, and in quality fashion, is paramount. It's the least they deserve, he says, as the social epicenter for a generation of teens. "With all these malls closing, I thought, 'I should start filming them.' "

He did, and the videos became a part of his This is Dan Bell YouTube channel.

An excerpt from Dan Bell's YouTube Dead Mall Series: "Rolling Acres Mall: BUSTED BY AKRON POLICE!!" Dan Bell. thenewstribune.com



California Cargo Theft Report:
$55.2 million in loss in 2016
According to CargoNet's California Theft Report, there was $55.2 million estimated loss value in cargo theft incidents in California in 2016. As the image to the left shows, most of those cases involved the theft of food and beverages, with electronics coming in a close second.

The day of week with the most incidents is Friday, and most thefts take place in a warehouse or distribution center. The city with the most cases is Los Angeles. calamp.com



Speedway to Hire 2,000 in 9 States

Kwik Trip Acquires 34 PDQ Food Stores - To Add 1,000 Jobs

Fendi Sets Retail Expansion in the U.S.

Tyco Retail Solutions (now Johnson Controls) Unveils
New Virtual Retail Experience Center

A 360 degree panoramic site features immersive content and offers a VR experience!

Tyco Retail Solutions, part of Johnson Controls, has just launched a new interactive site that allows customers, prospects, press and media to learn and engage with multimedia content about the complete retail portfolio. The new site showcases the latest retail solutions from its premier Sensormatic®, ShopperTrak and TrueVUE® brands, as well as a full suite of premium safety and security solutions.

This new site uses cutting edge virtual reality tour technology and is compatible with all operating systems for seamless viewing on Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Google Chrome as well as iPad, iPhone and all mobile devices.

The 360 degree panoramic site includes 11 retail solution videos, 16 still images and an interactive floor plan. You can request more information or schedule a visit to one of their global Retail Experience Centers here: http://tycoretailsolutions.com/Pages/REC.aspx.

Whether your objective is to minimize shrink, increase conversion rates, optimize inventory levels, drive employee productivity, or enhance overall store performance, the Retail Group can show you how to leverage the latest technology to deliver retail performance excellence.

Take a virtual tour of the Retail Experience Center here:
http://vrtour.virtualsinc.com/company/RetailExperienceCenter/2804/?webvr=1

House panel signs off on $1.8B for DHS cyber office
House lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a spending measure that would provide roughly $1.8 billion in funding for a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cyber unit

The bill would allocate the money for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), the DHS office tasked with securing critical infrastructure from cyber threats.

NPPD, which is charged with protecting U.S. cyber and physical infrastructure, would receive nearly $1.4 billion to help secure civilian networks, prevent cyberattacks and espionage, and help modernize emergency communications infrastructure. thehill.com

RFID tech firm may be part of Amazon Go
The internet of things and automated store technology mean a boom for tech firm Impinj, especially when it comes to Amazon and online grocery.

Impinj Inc., whose so-called radio-frequency identification technology allows users to tag and track data on products, is widely speculated to be part of the Amazon Go automated store experiment. Shares have more than tripled since its initial offering last July, making it the best performer in the Bloomberg IPO Index over the past 12 months.

"Connecting everyday items just has to be the next step for the Internet," Impinj CEO Chris Diorio said in a phone interview. "At some point in the future you will be able to get information about an item you own or want to buy and you can get it directly."

While other companies like Zebra Technologies Inc. make tracking software and NXP Semiconductors NV makes the so-called endpoint chips that go on products, Impinj offers a complete system. Apparel retailers are currently the biggest users of Impinj's products. Diorio estimates there are about 80 billion connectable items a year sold in that industry, with current penetration by Impinj and others around 5 to 10%.

Analysts say that Amazon already uses Seattle-based Impinj's technology in its bricks-and-mortar bookstores.

"All signs point to Amazon Go utilizing RFID in some capacity."

Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, is part of the RAIN Alliance, a group co-founded by Impinj which promotes the universal adoption of ultra-high frequency RFID. digitalcommerce360.com

Execs Expect More Cyberattacks, Higher Costs
A survey of 400 C-suite executives and board members by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney found 85% said they think cyberattacks will become more frequent and cost more money, while 43% ranked cybersecurity as the top operational challenge for their business, up from 40% in 2016. Equal to or more important than shoring up cyberdefense capabilities to the executives is finding and retaining qualified cyber professionals and improving employee training and awareness on cyber issues.

"Cybersecurity experts consistently point to employee training as a key cyber vulnerability." wsj.com

Huge Cyber Insurance Gap Between Actual Loss and Coverage
Insurers Need Handle on Data to Understand Cyber Risks
The estimated costs of a malicious outage at a cloud-service provider or bad actors exploiting a previously undisclosed software vulnerability are approximate to those of a major hurricane, according to a report spotlighting risks facing insurers and companies buying policies. The data highlights the problems of insurers not offering enough coverage, insurers being afraid to take on risk they don't completely understand and of companies not buying enough cyberinsurance or any at all, stated the report from cyber risk analytics firm Cyence and specialty insurance market Lloyd's of London. Under the cloud-services outage scenario, the report estimates an insurance coverage gap of between $4 billion and $45 billion-meaning no more than 17% of losses are covered. The underinsurance gap is even worse, finding just 7% of economic losses are covered.

"Insurers' understanding of cyber liability and risk aggregation is an evolving process as experience and knowledge of cyberattacks grows." wsj.com
 
From Russia With Love - Online Cyber Crime School
A $945 class teaches online scammers of the future
The six-week seminar works just like other online courses, with tuition, alumni testimonials and real instructors
This school isn't a scam. It teaches you how to commit one.

Digital Shadows, a security firm based out of the United Kingdom, followed the online fraud ecosystem, and released its research on Wednesday.

The company found several guidebooks online, that can sell for $1, or forums where thieves can trade tips in secrecy, but nothing as in-depth as the six-week course. Digital Shadows enrolled in the WWH-Club's online seminar, where "tuition" cost $745, with an additional $200 for course materials.

"It's on a scale that haven't seen before, and they refresh the course material every six months."

New students had to pay in cryptocurrency, like Webmoney or Bitcoin. WWH-Club advertises itself as the "world's largest carding forum."

Like any online course, WWH-Club has a curriculum. There are 20 lectures, with five instructors, required reading and quizzes. Each lecture lasts more than an hour, and there is a maximum class size of 15 students.

The lectures touch on topics like "Bruteforcing Paypal," "Working on Android," and taking advantage of specific industries like hotels and flights. The classes are only in Russian and offer retraining every six months -- if you can afford to pay again.

The instructors would tell students that they could make more than $3,000 a month for less than 12 hours a week. They suggested websites where a newly minted scammer could buy a stash of stolen credit cards, and then how to turn it into cash.

One of the lectures listed websites that allowed purchases with stolen credit cards, follow by instructions on how to sell the goods for cash. cnet.com
 
FRAUD & BREACH PREVENTION SUMMIT NEW YORK
August 8th and 9th | New York Marriott Marquis

Sears Canada's Thousands Get No Severance
Key Workers get $9.2M Retention Bonuses
Plan we approved June 22 at initial filing of 59 store closures and 2,99 lay offs.

Sears Canada plans on rewarding select employees with retention payments totalling up to $9.2 million while laying off thousands without severance, a move met with public outcry and criticism from some former employees.

Under the court-approved retention plan, 43 senior management and key employees will receive up to $7.6 million while Sears undergoes restructuring, and 116 employees of closing stores will receive up to $1.6 million. The payments to senior management would be made in several instalments over 180 days, and closing store employees would receive bonuses equal to 25 per cent of their base salary once the store is shuttered.

"If these key insiders with key corporate knowledge of the company's history walk away, it would not only delay restructuring, but it may make it impossible. If you don't have these people, you can't restructure. If you lost them all, it could be the end for Sears," David Lewis, an assistant professor of retail management at Ryerson University, said. financialpost.com

Sears Canada Gets OK to Start Soliciting Bids

Court grants Sears Canada approval to begin liquidation sales Friday

RCC SESSION:
Organized Retail Crime Networks and the Impact on Modern Retail
Organized retail crime in Canada is big. And it is getting bigger by the day.

Because of our laws, Canada is especially vulnerable to these kinds of criminal activities. Regional, national and international groups have developed multi-tiered operations that end up selling billions of dollars in stolen product back into the retail supply chain and profits fund drugs, weapons and other corrupt schemes.

In this session, retail loss prevention professionals expose various plots and strategies and identify the most successful methods to undermine these criminal networks.

Don't miss out on this day of new connections and industry insights! Register today!

Ironic Twist
First Nations Tribe Suing Canadian Fed. Gov't For $3B
Failing to Stop Contraband Tobacco Producers
The lawsuit, filed in the Ontario Court of Appeal at the end of June by Grand River Enterprises', the biggest manufacturer of Native cigarettes in Canada, accuses the Attorney General of Canada of "malfeasance in public office, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of aboriginal rights."

Seeking $1.5 billion in damages for revenues allegedly lost to the approximately 50 unlicensed and therefore illegal cigarette manufacturers in the province competing with their brands, and another $1.5 billion for the government's failure to close them down.

The irony, of course, is that GRE manufactures millions of cigarettes a day at its processing plants on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, cigarettes that show up at smoke shacks on reserves across the province, and are then sold illegally to non-aboriginals for almost two-thirds less than smokes sold legally at convenience stores.

The lawsuit is based on two theories of liability - the "forced incorporation" of GRE, and the "failure" of the federal government to "enforce" its agreement to come down hard on First Nation cigarette manufacturers churning out products without a license.

It was a raid by the RCMP on GRE back in the mid-1990s that resulted in GRE reluctantly agreeing to pay federal excise taxes to avoid being shut down, with the feds then promising to "ntensify enforcement against contraband to level the playing field between GRE and other on-reserve tobacco manufacturers."

A recent study by the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco shows a full third of cigarettes in Ontario are purchased illegally, with Northern Ontario breaching 60%.

GRE argues in the court document that the federal government, namely through the Attorney General's office, has "failed to implement or administer what has been cited as the 1994 Anti-Smuggling Initiative and, as a result of not enforcing laws against the production of contraband cigarettes by other First Nation profiteers, it has caused Montour and company to "incur substantial losses." torontosun.com

Woodbridge firm, Creation Foods, fined $25,000 for distributing fake kosher cheese
It is the first Canadian case related to misrepresentation of kosher food to be brought before Ontario court.

A Woodbridge, Ont. company, Creation Foods Company, has been fined $25,000 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) after using a forged kosher certificate to sell non-kosher cheese to two Jewish youth camps in Ontario. canadiangrocer.com

Exact Same Patterns Emerging as U.S.
Online Sales Growth Continues Upwards +9.9%
Canada's June Retail Sales Relatively Soft - Up 3.2%
Compared to the strong growth seen in May (5%+), June's retail sales were relatively softer. All Store Sales were up 3.2% while All Stores Less Automotive, Food, Pharmacies was up 3.8% in June. While two categories performed significantly poorly this month, the remaining categories were all over the map, contributing to what was essentially a lukewarm month for retailers.

No surprise that Department Stores were down (-4.2%) as discussed in length last month, but the category that continues to see negative growth this year is Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores which had a -7.7% decline in sales in June.

We continue to see strong growth in the Building Material and Garden Equipment Stores (6.6% year-to-date sales) and decent growth with the Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores (3.2% year-to-date sales). Home Depot saw strong growth in the first quarter with a 4.9% increase for their comparable store sales. Apparel fared poorly in part due to the variant weather throughout the country which has not been conducive for shopping.

Non-store retailers continued to be strong with a 9.9% increase in sales for June. jcwg.com

Halton police launch ID Me Monday initiative to catch shoplifters

Canadians at risk as counterfeit goods sneak through customs

Winnipeg, MB:  7-Eleven Parking Lot Package -Turns Out to Be Bomb
A 22-year-old Winnipeg man says he is happy to be alive and praying for his injured friends after a bomb exploded in the pickup truck they were in on the weekend. Police reported Tuesday morning that two people - a 27-year-old man and 20-year-old woman - were in critical condition after the explosion, which took place 50 metres from a 7-Eleven.

The person who brought the bag to the 7-Eleven was also not an intended victim and might not have known what was inside. The improvised explosive device was in a bag inside the cab of the truck when it accidentally went off.

Initially, emergency crews responded to what was believed to be a crash that caused the truck to go up in flames. The four people were found outside the vehicle suffering from severe burns. cbc.ca

St. John's, NL: Would-be armed robbers locked out of St. John's drug store Part of One-Hour Narcotics Robbery Spree
Police in St. John's are investigating an armed robbery, and an attempted robbery, at two drug stores on Thursday. Officers were called to a pharmacy in the Churchill Square area around 4:20 p.m. Staff reported there were two men with their faces covered, carrying what appeared to be a weapon, outside the store. The workers refused to release the electronic lock to let them in the store, so the two suspects fled the area.

Then, about an hour later, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was called to a pharmacy in the Major's Path area. Two men, with their faces concealed and carrying a weapon, entered the store and got away with an undisclosed amount of narcotics. cbc.ca

Sarnia, ON: Crew busted for $30K credit card fraud after hitting 10 stores
Sarnia police have arrested four people from Toronto who allegedly went on a $30,000 shopping spree with stolen credit cards. Two men and two women are believed to have purchased jewelry, cellphones and a host of other items from 10 different stores using phony credit cards, according to police. The four suspects, ranging in ages from 27 to 42, have been charged with a total of 64 criminal offences, including theft, possession of stolen property, credit card fraud and breach of recognizance. cbc.ca

Toronto, ON: Chaos Erupts At Pizza Parlor As Crazy 10-Person Brawl Breaks Out

Barrie, ON: Customer helps clerk during convenience store robbery

Edmonton, AB: Truck backs through Sobeys store in attempt to steal ATM

Robberies & Burglaries

• Dollar Mart - St. Catharines, ON - Robbery
• Mac's - Windsor, ON - Armed Robbery (Lauzon Rd.)
• Mac's - Windsor, ON - Armed Robbery (Walker Rd.)
• Mac's - Barrie, ON - Robbery
• Northgate Pharmacy - Sarnia, ON - Armed Robbery
• Petro Canada - Barrie, ON - Armed Robbery
• Undisclosed pharmacy - St. John's, NL - Armed Robbery (Churchill Square)
• Undisclosed pharmacy - St. John's, NL - Armed Robbery (Major's Path)

Counterfeit consumer goods online pose risk to shoppers' health
27% of online shoppers duped into buying fake make-up, skincare, medicine
New research from MarkMonitor, the world leader in enterprise brand protection, reveals counterfeit goods still pose a significant risk to consumers. More than one-quarter of respondents (27%) said they had unwittingly purchased non-genuine consumer goods online. This included every day items, such as make-up (32%), skincare (25%), supplements (22%) and, worryingly, medication (16%).br>
Respondents found these non-genuine goods were found through a variety of online channels, including online marketplaces (39%), search engines (34%), mobile apps (22%) and social ads (20%).

"The threat of counterfeiters is ever-present, affecting both brands and consumers. For brands it's all about the loss of revenue, reputation and customer trust. However, when it comes to non-genuine consumer goods such as cosmetics, skincare, sun care and medicines, the consequences for shoppers are far greater, affecting their health and wellbeing. As a result, it is up to brands to ensure they have a solid online brand protection policy in place to deal with the counterfeit threat and keep their customers safe from harm," says Anil Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer of MarkMonitor. Read the full report here prnewswire.co.uk

What retailers need to know about the new ad-blocking initiatives
In the span of two weeks recently, the two largest internet companies, Google and Apple, announced ad-blocking initiatives that will have major ripples on the internet ecosystem. Retailers, who are increasingly looking at e-commerce as a vital revenue driver, need to pay attention to these changes, which will have significant impact on their online marketing.

Google will only block ads that don't follow the guidelines set out by the Coalition for Better Ads. To pass through Google's ad filter, retailers will need to think carefully about aligning the consumer experience with their display strategy.

For starters, retailers will need to limit the reach and frequency of their ads by carefully selecting where and when to place media.

The stricter prohibitions on digital ads will also lead retailers to focus more on in-app advertising efforts, since apps are not impacted by the ad-blocking measures.

Lots of retailers use display advertising to market to consumers early in their shopping journey. With Google's stricter rules, retailers should consider turning to search marketing, which is not affected by the ad-blocking initiative, for top-of-the-funnel marketing. digitalcommerce360.com

Shootings & Death

Hardware store Owner Killed in 'brazen daytime shooting' in Boston
Andres Cruz, owner of AC Hardware was a popular figure to local residents. Cruz was shot at the address of his shop after three men tried to rob him, according to police. Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans called "a brazen daytime shooting of a good, well-respected man doing the right thing." Three suspects have been taken into custody. masslive.com


Clarksdale, MS: Kroger shooting: Man shot inside Mississippi grocery store
A gunman opened fire inside a Clarksdale grocery store Tuesday night. Police were called to the Kroger on State Street. Investigators said one person was shot in the leg inside the store. The accused shooter is in custody. The victim said he got into an argument with someone he knows. He said they were friends and claimed he was in the wrong. The victim does not want the suspect to be locked up. fox13memphis.com

Robberies & Thefts

Indianapolis, IN: Dollar General Robbery suspect smashes into Police Car, Officer injured
A robbery suspect crashed into multiple vehicles, including a police cruiser, while trying to get away Tuesday night. He eventually crashed into a car and continued eastbound on 10th Street, where the car struck another vehicle at an intersection. Police said the man then intentionally rammed an IMPD car; the officer suffered minor injuries. The man was taken into custody. cbs4indy.com


Watertown, MA: Police searching for six in connection with CVS robbery
Watertown Police are advising residents to keep an eye out for six individuals wanted in connection with an assault and robbery at CVS on Monday. According to police, the six men were involved with a theft at the CVS located at 27 Main Street on Monday at 5 a.m. Watertown Police said that the individuals are also suspects in an assault and battery that occurred in the area on the same night against a man over 60 years old. wickedlocal.com

Armed robbers targeting Metro PCS stores in Minneapolis, St Paul

Salt Lake valley, UT: Police searching for suspects in string of overnight robberies in Salt Lake valley

Piqua, OH: Ohio State Troopers chase down Walmart shoplifters

Great Falls, MT: Woman kneed Police Officer in groin during shoplifting stop

Counterfeit

Toledo, OH: Ringleader pleads guilty to selling counterfeit merchandise and stolen electronics, shipping the money overseas
Mamoun Awwad, 45, of Toledo was then found guilty by Judge Jack Zouhary of conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was one of 26 Toledoans indicted in 2015 by a federal grand jury on accusations that through a number of stores and businesses owned by Awwad and other family members they sold stolen computers, cell phones, and tablets in Ohio, Michigan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine between 2006 and early 2015. They're also accused of cashing checks and laundering them through nearly 90 different bank accounts. toledoblade.com

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Great Leadership: What it Takes

Want to Become a Great Leader? Act Like a Student, Not the Expert  In this short video, you get one of the best tips you need in order to be a great leader. Bestselling author, Simon Sinek, explains why leadership isn't about the rank you achieve, it's a skill that requires constant practice. Always learning

6 Powerful Ways to Make Anyone Into a Great Leader  A leader's function is to turn people into leaders, not produce more followers. There's a leader waiting to come out in every person, here's what you can do to help them develop their leadership abilities. Leadership begins within

What Are the Secrets to Great Leadership?  Leadership is so much more than learning the skills needed to perform within the given job description. Leadership is knowing and leading from your true self, and when that is done, you'll be able to understand the deeper purpose and value of being a great leader. Find your 'What'

3 Things Great Leaders Do that Acheive Amazing Results  Results are the benchmark of success. It's important for leaders to be authentic, but what really inspires teams to achieve great things, is results. How can leaders make it happen? These three tips will help. Show them your passion

Starting next week: 'Top 10 Your Career Articles' from the First Half of 2017  

Every journey has bumps in the road and no one is immune for they all present themselves at different times, in different places, and from people you'd never expect. The real test is how you deal with them and how you don't let them define you. Because bumps are growth opportunities merely masked in conflict.

Just a Thought,
Gus

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