A Little More Colorful- Employee Theft Investigation

One of the more common theft items for many retailers is fragrance and cosmetics. It’s not just shoplifters that employers need to be worried about too. It is the employee theft of these items that can create a bigger financial shortfall in inventory losses.

Let’s start with why these items are taken. We can begin with the price- for most major fragrance labels, even a small one-ounce bottle can fetch close to fifty dollars. Even though cosmetics can be a low price point, ask any woman how many different products they use. It can be an overwhelming amount of different items of makeup, each with a five to ten dollar price- for the moderate drugstore brands. Higher end products can increase in price exponentially depending on the designer and type of product.

Beyond the initial price, these are consumable items. They need to be replenished with regularity ranging from once a month to once every four to six months. If you have employees that regularly wear or use these beauty items, they can potentially incur hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of product in a year’s time.

From an employee theft perspective, stealing these items is a way to maintain, or enhance, a life style while decreasing out of pocket expenses. It was not uncommon for me to resolve employee theft investigations where employees sought out employment at stores that carried their preferred brand of cosmetics just so they would have unending access to them.

For more information on employee theft, employee theft investigation or internal theft contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia

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