A major grocery store chain has announced that it will stop selling products from top brands in an effort to deter thefts.
The chain, Giant Foods, which serves Washington, D.C. and surrounding states including Maryland and Virginia, will reportedly soon clear its beauty and health aisles of all national labels.
According to The Washington Post, Giant Foods says it will no longer stock such brands as Tide, Colgate, or Advil – just store brands.
Shoppers will now also have to show their receipts to an employee before exiting the store.
“We have no other choice,” Diane Hicks, senior vice president of operations, said last week.
Hicks noted that nearby stores have already locked or removed similar products from their aisles.
“I’ve been leaving it out for our customers and unfortunately it just forces all the crime to come to us,” Hicks added.
The grocery chain currently operates 165 supermarkets throughout DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware.
The change is expected to go into effect across stores in the coming days.
The move by Giant is its most recent against rampant theft hurting retailers of all sizes and across the country.
Giant has already put some items in clear lockboxes that