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Growth of online sales &
turnover forcing retailers to review employee commissions & bonuses
Rising online sales are prompting some Canadian retailers to consider
overhauling the commission structures that motivate their store employees to
deliver strong customer service.
Clothing retailer Le Chateau said
it's reviewing its options due to the growth of showrooming - a practice
where shoppers browse in-store but then order online - because it deprives
employees of commissions. One option under consideration is
allocating commissions from online sales to stores near the shopper's home.
The Retail Council of Canada said designing a good compensation strategy
is challenging. It's especially difficult figuring out how to divide store
rewards among individual sales associates.
Luxury menswear retailers
such as Harry Rosen pay commissions to employees, even when the regular
customers to whom they're assigned make online purchases, noted industry
observers.
The trend in the U.S. is towards team rewards, with
bonuses based on the store's performance, in order to avoid the
high-pressure tactics that customers loathe, said Jim Okamura, a Canadian
retail consultant.
Apportioning credit for a sale - especially in
a world where customers are visiting stores, responding to promotions sent
directly to their phones and ordering online - is at the centre of internal
fights among retailers.
Retailers will also have to adapt
commission structures to avoid costly turnover of millennial employees, a
group she says are often as disloyal as the customers they serve.
E-commerce accounted for 5.7 per cent of total retail sales
in Canada last year, compared to 7.1 per cent in the U.S.,
according to a Trendex NAFTA apparel report. cbc.ca
Target Lawsuits continue
over failed Canadian Expansion
A pension fund
wants to represent investors accusing Target Corp. of concealing problems
with its expansion into Canada and has tapped Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP as its lead counsel choice, according to a
motion in Minnesota federal court.
The Carpenters Pension Fund of
Illinois on Monday said it deserves the top spot in the proposed class
action alleging that Target defrauded investors with a series of false and
misleading statements leading up to its decision to fire its top Canadian
executive and send the Canadian unit into bankruptcy in early 2015. With
losses of more than $282,000, the pension fund said it is the most
appropriate choice to lead the suit.
The suit, filed in May by the
Police Retirement System of St. Louis, alleged that Target falsely reassured
investors that things were running smoothly even as its Canadian unit
struggled to get off the ground, causing its shares to trade at artificially
high prices. law360.com
LCBO worker who posted security image of
feminist online 'no longer an employee'
An LCBO employee who posted security footage on Facebook is no longer
employed by the Crown corporation, CityNews has learned. The employee posted
a screengrab of a woman shopping, outing her as the same woman who
confronted men's rights activists in a 2013 YouTube video that went viral.
"We conducted an investigation and as a result of the investigation we
took action with respect to the employee in a matter that reflects the
seriousness of the situation," Christine Bujold, an LCBO spokesperson said. "That person is no longer an LCBO employee." citynews.ca
306 Quebec
pharmacies/franchisees suing franchisor Jean Coutu to recover $252M in
royalties
The suit claims franchise owners
have been overpaying Jean Coutu in violation of Article 49 of the Code of
Ethics for Pharmacists, which prohibits pharmacists from sharing fees and
profits from drug sales with non-pharmacists, Sopropharm said.
financialpost.com
Canadian retailers
buying Pokemon Go 'lures' to draw virtual creatures, and trainers
Ontario-based bag &
luggage retailer Taschen! Shutters its 4 Canadian stores
Wal-Mart Escalates Fight
With Visa, Blocks Cards at Three Canadian Stores
Retail Council: No
reason why Visa's fees should be so high
Ikea to accept PayPal in
Canada for online purchases
How
stolen freezies and strawberries are turning into a $5B black market
In a heat wave like this, it's not hard to imagine why someone might have
stolen two tractor-trailers full of Kisko freezies two weeks ago. But the
$60,000 heist is actually part of an increasingly sophisticated organized
crime network that's infiltrating the shipping industry.
Cargo theft has created a black market worth between $5 to $6 billion a year
countrywide, according to estimates from police and the Ontario
Trucking Association.
In York region, alone about 50 cargo
thefts are reported each year — with police recovering $4 to $5 million in
goods, said Det.-Sgt. Paul LaSalle who is part of the force's cargo
theft unit.
The majority of what's stolen is food, with LaSalle
having seen everything from meat to strawberries go missing.
LaSalle
said it's now evolved from petty theft into "a complicated shell game."
Fraudsters pose as shipping operatives, creating a false company name to bid
on the jobs offered online by food producers, Lasalle said. The false
company will then pick up the goods, but never deliver them — and by the
time the manufacturer realizes they've been robbed, it's often too late.
"They want to be able to unload it fairly quickly," Lasalle said of the
goods. "They don't want the risk of it travelling on a highway for a long
period of time."
Kisko Products has fallen victim to this kind of
heist twice in two years, its president Mark Josephs said. While police were
able to track down the missing freezies this time, they could only put one
of the truckloads back into their inventory — losing about $30,000 in
revenue, Josephs said.
"The thieves hacked into the computer
system of the trucking company and stole all their information about all the
loads," he said. "This organized crime is so sophisticated their
supply chain would really be the envy of any of us in the industry."
cbc.ca
Canada's crime index rises
for 1st time in 12 years, lifted by spike in Alberta
A "notable" uptick in police-reported crime in Alberta
contributed to the first increase in the national rate in 12 years, Statistics
Canada says. The national Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures the volume
and severity of police-reported crime, jumped five per cent from 2014 to 2015,
the federal agency said Wednesday. An 18 per cent increase in Alberta, combined
with smaller increases in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan,
contributed to pushthe CSI up. In all, eight out of 13 provinces and territories
reported an increase in the CSI by the end of last year.
cbc.ca
 Staff
'deserved what they got': Man told police after ramming truck through Petro
Canada station
Steven Cloutier told police he was “past the breaking point” the
day he drove his Ford F-150 through an Edmonton Petro Canada gas station,
severely injuring two employees; a man and a woman. Two other female employees
were also injured.
Cloutier, 39, was originally facing a long list of charges, including four
counts of attempted murder. On Monday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of
aggravated assault, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, mischief over $5,000
and assault.
Nov. 19,
2015, Cloutier didn’t run from police. In fact, he watched from across the
street as emergency crews arrived at the Petro Canada at 96 Street and
118 Avenue. Once in police custody, he told the investigator he should be in a
mental hospital.
After his
credit card had been denied at multiple gas pumps he drove into the station.
Warning: Video contain
disturbing images.
globalnews.ca
Quebec Order of Pharmacists
issues cautionary statement over theft
The Quebec Order of Pharmacists is asking its members to review
their security measures following a robbery that led to a fatal standoff in
Jonquière, Que. last week. Quebec provincial police believed a 27-year-old man
held up a pharmacy with a knife last Saturday. He later died during a standoff
between him and police because he appeared to be holding what looked like a
homemade bomb.
cbc.ca
 Peel,
ON (UPDATE): Third arrest made in connection to violent jewellery store
robberies, home invasions
A week after Peel police
announced the capture of two suspects allegedly involved in a series of violent
home invasions targeting South Asian jewellery store owners, a third suspect
turned himself in to investigators on Monday. Rashid Ahmad, 25, from Windsor,
has been charged with robbery, disguise with intent, and holding an imitation
firearm while committing an offence. The four attacks, two in Brampton and two
in Toronto between October and December 2015 were “well-orchestrated” and
“terrifying,” Chief Jennifer Evans told media last Wednesday.
metronews.ca
Calgary sword store loses
$20,000 in merchandise after weekend burglary
Dark Age Creations lost close to $20,000 in medieval swords,
armour and other custom pieces in an overnight burglary.
calgaryherald.com
Two Medicine Hat men charged
with credit card fraud
Ottawa: Police respond to
apparent Poké-crimes in the capital
Youth charged with robbing
3 Cold Lake liquor stores in 20 minutes
Armed Robberies
Champlain Pharmacy IDA -
Morinville, AB, CN
Greco Pizza - New
Brunswick, CN
Kwik-Way – Wilmot, NS
Petro-Canada - Kamloops, BC,
CN
Tremont Pharmacy - St.
Catharines, ON
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