ABSTRACT
The retail industry is one of the largest business sectors worldwide. It involves many operational activities, products, store formats, and selling channels. This complexity exposes retail companies to various criminal threats, many of which are perpetrated by organized criminal groups. On the one hand, gangs of professional criminals are responsible for large-scale theft and fraud. Although these crimes are largely considered petty offenses, they are often highly organized and cause serious harm to retailers and their employees. On the other hand, retail companies are highly attractive and vulnerable to economic infiltration by traditional organized crime syndicates for money laundering or other illicit purposes. These activities cause several forms of economic and reputational harm to the retail industry. This chapter will review the organized criminal activities that threaten the retail sector. Moreover, it will discuss some countermeasures or preventive actions that retailers could adopt to mitigate these risks.
