According to a report issued Wednesday by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Retail Council of Canada, Canadian retailers lose about $4 billion a year in theft, accounting errors and damaged products. The report also found an increase in the percentage of employees involved in the activities in 2008, estimating that it grew to more than 33 percent of theft-related incidents. In 2008 it was only 19 percent. (Source theglobeandmail.com)

Williams-Sonoma will open its first store in Quebec, Canada, on Nov. 3 Located at Carrefour Laval in Laval, Quebec, the new store marks Williams-Sonoma’s eighth location in Canada, and will be the first to showcase a brand new store design. (Source retailingtoday.com)

Canada's high-end retailer Holt Renfrew to launch new "hr2" retail concept next spring after 175 years in business The retail concept will offer Canadians new and unique designer product selection at great value, said the company. The merchandise assortment at hr2 will include unique product lines sourced especially for hr2 and not available elsewhere in Canada. A new hr2 division will buy distinct merchandise for these new stores. The first hr2 store will debut in Quebec at Quartier DIX30 in March 2013, with another location planned for Ontario in early 2013. "Canadians can look forward to a strong national presence of our hr2 stores across the country before the end of 2015," said Heather Arts. (Source canada.com)

Mall owners upgrading properties to draw foreign retailers Mall owners are injecting billions of dollars into their properties ahead of Target and Nordstrom’s Canadian debut, hoping the investment will woo shoppers and attract coveted retailers, reports The Globe and Mail. (Source canadiangrocer.com)


RCMP talk addresses retail theft issues When a business is faced with a shoplifter it can be tricky for the owners to know who they can tell and what information they can share without breaking any privacy laws. For this reason the West Shore RCMP organized a series of workshops last week with RCMP Legal Services lawyer Kyle Friesen. RCMP members and business owners and managers took part in the workshops, which focused on explaining the rights of businesses when it comes to dealing with retail theft. (Source goldstreamgazette.com)

Royal Canadian Mounted Police appoint officer with extensive knowledge of gemology to head its investigations of diamond-related crimes From his base in Alberta, Corporal Kelly Ross, who majored in geology and is a certified gemologist, will also hunt down criminals who use gold and precious gems as a cash medium. Ross says that the need for a federal enforcement officer dedicated solely to fighting diamond industry crimes arose when officers noticed a new trend among drug dealers: the tendency to use jewels in lieu of cash. (Source israeldiamond.co.il)

New Canadian ePassports More Difficult to Counterfeit Canada’s new ePassports will include iconic images to make them more attractive and secure. Besides making the passports more attractive, the images are also meant to bolster security, as the complexity of the images makes the passports more difficult to counterfeit. There are currently close to 100 countries around the world issuing ePassports. The government says Canada fell behind in developing the ePassport due to America’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative coming to effect in 2007, which required all Canadians to carry a passport to enter the U.S. (Source theepochtimes.com)

FLIR Systems has agreed to acquire Lorex Technology Inc., a Markham, Ontario, Canada-based provider of consumer and professional-grade video surveillance systems The company sells its solutions through retailers such as Costco, BJ’s Wholesale, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, as well as through distributors of large-scale security solutions. Lorex provides homes and businesses bundled video surveillance systems and equipment, including connected visible light video cameras, illuminated infrared cameras, DVRs, video monitors, baby monitors, and wearable action sports cameras. (Source securitysales.com)

Think Logistics Launches Canada's First Robotic Fulfillment Based 3PL Think Logistics, a provider of tailored retail, direct to customer and commercial supply chain solutions for organizations serving the Canadian market, is revolutionizing supply chain logistics with the opening of Canada's first Kiva Systems powered third-party logistics' facility. (Source yahoo.com)

A suspected shoplifter in a motorized wheelchair violently taken into custody in Vancouver. The apprehension is under investigation by the owner of Genesis Security, the firm contracted to patrol the Vancouver’s Pacific Centre Mall. No criminal charges were filed against the Loss Prevention Agents seen pulling a man with only one leg out of his wheelchair and handcuffed on the ground. The man was suspected of stealing over $1000 of sunglasses which were recovered. (Source cbc.ca)

Vancouver ORC couple who were busted by Safeway ORC team also selling counterfeit air bags Yveginey and Lyudmila Smirnov were arrested by police in late May after allegedly buying $750 worth of purportedly stolen items from an undercover investigator working for Safeway's Organized Retail Crime Department in the Hazel Dell Walmart parking lot. Deputies also recovered "hundreds" of air bags from their home while serving the search warrant. After the arrest, sheriff's deputies searched the Smirnov's home and found "numerous amounts of different merchandise" including Crest White Strips, Rogaine and air fresheners, court documents say. (Source columbian.com)