Chocolate bars are being locked in plastic boxes in some UK shops as retailers and police forces warn thieves are stealing them to order.
Sainsbury’s said it had begun using “boxes on products which are regularly targeted”, with £2.60 bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk locked up in one London branch.
Chocolate was more recently being “sold on by criminals and is now being targeted more frequently by prolific offenders,” according to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).
If you see someone stealing food, no you didn’t
I think that principle is intended to apply to staples, when people in poverty are forced to steal food so as not to starve.
Stealing bars of Dairy Milk and then selling them on seems like a different thing.
I think stealing from corporations is always ok, honestly if you steal that slop you deserve it. If you’re buying it you have already lost.
Yeah but on the other hand, who fucking cares?
It’s bringing the price of that product back to reasonable market levels and having a knock on effect on the pricing of that product in general.
Whilst I agree it’s different from stealing staple foods, it’s still something I’d happily turn a blind eye to as it’s an unofficial public service
(Yes, yes, I’m leaving)
Yeah, stealing £25 hipster honey is just theft. Stealing some spuds could be survival.
If you see someone shoving six bottles of whisky in their coat, yes you did.
There’s a difference between stealing for survival and stealing for profit.
These companies are stealing from people but you draw the line at a poor person stealing from them?
Whether or not I saw something has zero to do with what they’re stealing and everything to do with where they’re stealing from.
You do not steal from Mom and Pop shops. I
willmay not say anything to the staff, but I might pay for it or I might direct you to a better place to go steal.If I see something in Walmart, no I fucking didn’t. I don’t care what it is.
Edit: based on the reply. It’s a good point, but not something I’ve personally run into so it’s not something I’ve had to consider. I’ve seen idiot kids doing idiot kid things. I’ve seen people in need. I’ve not seen a gang or tweakers stealing from a local shop, only large retailers (no I didn’t, I do not give a shit) or individuals (I give many shits about this and my response ranges from stopping them to getting evidence to give to the owners depending on more factors than I can list).
Nah, I didn’t see jack, daniels or otherwise. Fuck the corporations.
It doesn’t affect them: they’ve already been paid. It’s the shop who takes the loss and the average customer who ends up paying more.
it doesn’t affect them
It’s the shop who takes the loss
So it does affect them, then?
Producer - has already been paid by legitimate shop for goods, isn’t affected by theft.
Legitimate shop - pays for goods then doesn’t get paid. Is affected.And? I said “corporation”. I don’t give a fuck how “Legitimate” they are. I hope they are affected and I very much want them to be affected.
Sainsbury’s is majority owned by Qatar Investment Authority - a sovereign wealth fund, the rest is private equity.
Tesco’s is majority owned by fucking BlackRock and over 80% of the shares are other misc private equity.
Morrisons is owned by US private equity in whole.
ASDA is owned by private equity and Walmart.
They are not the fucking struggling little guy that you seem to want to portray them as.
By all means shop at Coop and Waitrose then, but you’re missing the point: this is making things more expensive for everyone else. Shops have to raise prices to offset losses and investment in security.
If everyone bought stolen goods the legitimate shops would go out of business and the shoplifters would have nowhere to steal from. Your cheap goods are being subsidised by honest customers.
Well I’ll draw the line at alcohol which I see as a public negative. But chocolate?
Can you honestly tell me that the price increases and volume decreases for it have yielded in a better quality product? Someone has to rebalance that scale if the food regulators wont.
This isn’t people stealing chocolate because it’s expensive, it’s people stealing chocolate, cuts of meat, and alcohol etc. to resell. They aren’t ‘rebalancing’ anything, they are organised groups who are stealing in bulk to make a profit. This actually increases prices of those goods for everyone else.
Sainsbury’s Leads FTSE 100 Higher As Profits Burst Through £1 Billion. 17/04/25
Shares in Sainsbury’s edged higher on Thursday as it announced retail operating profit north of £1 billion for the first time last year.
No Sainsbury’s, I don’t think I will care about you having to lock up chocolate. I don’t think I’ll buy any chocolate you lock up.
It’s funny how there is no chocolate without slavery. And yet they somehow make billions in profit.
Who the fuck is stealing cadburys since they replaced most of the chocolate with palm oil?
