英语新闻丨沃尔玛永久关闭美国部分分店，原因：频繁遭抢！

The closure of retail stores in some major US cities has sparked a political dispute about the reasons, with organized shoplifting rings and employee safety often cited.

美国几个主要城市的零售店关闭的原因引发了一场政治争论，原因是有组织的入店行窃团伙和员工的安全问题。

Recently, the mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler, said the largest US retailer Walmart is leaving the Northwest city because of crime.

近日，俄勒冈州波特兰市市长泰德·惠勒（Ted Wheeler）表示，美国最大的零售商沃尔玛因该市极高的犯罪率将离开这座城市。

Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted a link on March 5 to an article about Walmart's decision to close its last two stores in Portland, which will affect 580 workers.

3月5日，得克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特在推特上发布了一则文章称，沃尔玛决定关闭波特兰最后两家门店，这将影响到580名员工。

In fact, Wal-Mart'scase of store closures is not unique.

其实，沃尔玛宣布闭店并非个例。

The store closure announcement followed a number of other high-profile store closures in Portland, many of which have specificallycited crimes against local crime.

在其发出关闭门店公告之前，在波特兰的许多其它知名商店已经宣布关闭，其中的许多商店都特别提到了当地犯罪猖獗的原因。

In December, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said: "Theft is an issue. It's higher than what it has historically been."

去年12月，沃尔玛首席执行官道格·麦克伦表示：“盗窃是个问题。它比有史以来的水平都要高。”

"The retail industry is changing and retail theft is a national issue," Wheeler said.

惠勒也表示，零售业正在改变，零售盗窃已成为一个全国性的问题。

Footwear giant Nike, headquartered in Oregon, had offered to pay off-duty Portland police officers to provide security at one of its stores.

总部位于俄勒冈州的制鞋业巨头耐克公司曾向波特兰的休班警察支付报酬，让他们为其一家门店提供安保服务。

Nike has said that the problem is nationwide, and some of its warehouses and even trains carrying its merchandise have been hit.

耐克表示，这个问题是全国性的，其部分仓库，甚至是运货的火车都受到了影响。

Retailers say the main problem is organized rings that involve multiple suspects rushing through stores and stealing large quantities of goods.

零售商表示，这些有组织的团伙作案，通常是多名歹徒冲进商店，大肆偷窃商品。

Last year, legislators in California, Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina increased penalties for stealing from stores.

去年，加利福尼亚州、佛罗里达州、路易斯安那州和北卡罗来纳州的立法者加大了对从商店偷窃物品的处罚。

Under an amended law in Louisiana, those caught stealing as part of a group could face up to seven years in prison.

根据路易斯安那州的一项修正法律，行窃者一经发现，将面临最高7年的监禁。

The NRF said that its latest security survey of roughly 60 retailers found that inventory loss — called shrink — averaged 1.4 percent last year.

美国零售联合会（National Retail Federation，简称NRF）表示，其对大约60家零售商进行的一项最新安全调查发现，去年的库存损失平均为1.4%。

The greatest part — 37 percent — came from external theft, including products taken during organized shoplifting incidents. It also noted that retailers on average saw a 26.5 percent increase in organized theft incidents last year.

数据显示，37%的损失来自外部盗窃，包括在有组织的入店行窃中被偷走的商品。而零售商去年遭遇的有组织盗窃事件平均增加了26.5%。

Some business owners were forced to lock up products and double the number of security guards at some stores.

有组织的盗窃事件频发，使一些企业主不得不为产品上锁，并增加店内保安数量。

But locking up items also reduces sales by 15-25 percent, according to Joe Budano, CEO of Indyme, a technology company that sells security devices to retailers.

为产品上锁虽然能有效防盗，但对零售营收却于事无补。Indyme是一家向零售商销售安全设备的科技公司，其首席执行官Joe Budano认为，给商品上锁也会使销售额降低15%-25%。

Shoplift

英 ['ʃɒplɪft]      美 ['ʃɒplɪft]

v. 在商店偷窃

Merchandise

英 [ˈmɜːtʃəndaɪs ,ˈmɜːtʃəndaɪz]  美 [ˈmɜːrtʃəndaɪs ,ˈmɜːrtʃəndaɪz]

n.货物

Suspect

英[səˈspekt]    美[səˈspekt]

n.嫌疑犯