If you walk into a local pharmacy in New York City, more likely than not, lots of the merchandise is locked behind closed doors as a measure to mitigate shoplifting. So how big is the "retail shrink" problem really? And why are stores willing to sacrifice customer experience to protect their inventory? According to today's guest, the Home Depot's VP of Asset Protection Scott Glenn, shoplifting is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to retail theft; what is really bedeviling companies like the Home Depot is something called organized retail crime, heists by criminal outfits that seek to nab large quantiles of merchandise that eventually ends up in the black market. Today, we speak with Glenn about the in-and-outs of organized retail crime, the retail shrink problem, and what stores are doing to bring down theft right now. Chapters: 00:00:06 - Cold Open 00:02:24 - Scott Glenn, VP of Asset Protection at Home Depot 00:03:36 - Most Stolen Items at Home Depot 00:06:07 - Defining Retail Theft 00:07:29 - Understanding Shrinkage 00:09:53 - Is Retail Theft Getting Worse? 00:13:27 - Identifying Organized Retail Crime 00:16:20 - Working with Law Enforcement 00:18:03 - Thresholds, Surveillance Operations, and Letting Suspects Walk 00:18:57 - Technology and Anti-Theft Measures 00:25:22 - RFID Limitations in a Hardware Store Environment 00:26:32 - The Fencing Supply Chain: Boosters, Fences, and Online Resale 00:30:30 - The INFORM Act Loophole and Platform Responsibility 00:35:51 - Locking Up Products 00:39:57 - E-Commerce Shrink 00:41:15 - Supply Chain Theft 00:44:37 - AI and Technology in Investigations 00:46:05 - Legislative and Law Enforcement Landscape 00:49:26 - Facial Recognition and Privacy 00:50:43 - Final Thoughts Watch Bloomberg Vodcasts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MS0Tqk_zQl1LVVTdWuH2Di Watch more Odd Lots episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0OJbRzA6nWybYiThLJd_ouz Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets. Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts: https://bit.ly/BloombergPodcasts Check out more Odd Lots: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV Get the Odd Lots newsletter: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/oddlots And for all things Odd Lots, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots #Investing #Markets #Finance #Bloomberg #Podcast #OddLots Visit us: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts For coverage on news, markets and more: http://www.bloomberg.com/video Visit our other YouTube channels: Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg