Head of Walmart Canada talks theft, self-checkouts, potential closures

Walmart President and CEO Gonzalo Gebara was in Moncton Monday for the grand opening of a massive new distribution centre that will provide over 40 stores in Atlantic Canada with fresh and frozen groceries.

The head of Canada’s largest retailer says shoplifting is a serious issue for the company, but they’re working on it.

Walmart President and CEO Gonzalo Gebara was in Moncton Monday for the grand opening of a massive new distribution centre that will provide over 40 stores in Atlantic Canada with fresh and frozen groceries.

It’s positive news for the region and for Walmart, but it comes during a dark time for the industry.

Shoplifting has never been a bigger issue according to Statistic Canada and the world's largest retailer is not immune.

After a tour of the facility, Gebara spoke to CTV News about theft, security and store closures.

“Security in general is something we pay very close attention to,” said Gebara. "We have been working on internal processes. We have been working on investing in technology. We have been very well connected with the RCC (Retail Council of Canada) and collaborating with everyone so that we can make our stores the safest place for our customers to shop and for our associates to work.”

Some have suggested self-checkouts are part of the problem, but the company insists it has no plans to scale back on the trend to curb theft.