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September 27, 2010

Food Marketing Institute Joins NRF, eBay Partnership to Fight Organized Retail Crime

For Immediate Release
NRF: Kathy Grannis (202) 783-7971 or grannisk@nrf.com
FMI: Kathleen Thomas, (202) 220-0616, kthomas@fmi.org
eBay: Amanda Coffee, (408) 221-1984, acoffee@ebay.com

Food Marketing Institute Joins NRF, eBay Partnership to Fight Organized Retail Crime

Washington, September 27, 2010 – The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is teaming up with the National Retail Federation (NRF) and eBay to tackle the growing problem of organized retail crime. This relationship strengthens the partnership and provides for even greater collaboration and information sharing in an ongoing effort to support the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as state and local law enforcement agencies working in partnership with grocery loss prevention professionals.

“The partnership between FMI, NRF and eBay will further strengthen the ability to support legislation and create standards and best practices so criminals find no safe harbor to fence their stolen goods no matter who they steal from,” said Rhett Asher, Vice President, Industry Relations, FMI. “We are excited to be an equal partner in this relationship and look forward to continued collaboration.” The partnership supports a multi-tiered approach to organized crime.

The groups have agreed to:

* Bring together a core group of FMI retail members and representatives of eBay on a regular basis to discuss organized retail crime, identify best practices in prevention, and take steps to eradicate the criminal activity.

* Leverage new technology, including LERPnet and eBay’s PROACT programs, to further assist law enforcement in identifying and tracking organized retail crime rings.

Collaborate with the FBI to help identify crime rings that have been responsible for stealing merchandise in bulk.
* Work together on legislation to enhance Federal law enforcement resources to combat organized retail crime and punish major offenders through enhanced criminal penalties.
"eBay is fully committed to playing a leadership role in the Internet community to combat retail crime, and that includes actively partnering with leadership organizations such as FMI who bring expertise, energy and important retail businesses to the effort," said Paul Jones, eBay's Global Director of Asset Protection. "We are excited about how eBay, FMI, NRF and many of the nation's top retailers are working together to stop criminals, protect consumers, improve business practices and build a culture of loss prevention cooperation top-to-bottom."
"Recent organized retail crime cases across the country demonstrate the sophisticated tactics being used by these criminal enterprises and need for collaboration between retailers, online marketplaces and law enforcement," said Joe LaRocca, Senior Asset Protection Advisor, National Retail Federation. "The addition of FMI to the existing partnership between NRF and eBay will foster greater collaboration and development of best practices to stop criminals from fencing their stolen goods to unsuspecting shoppers."
Organized retail crime (ORC) has long been a challenging issue for both retailers and secondary marketplaces. Nearly two-thirds of supermarkets say they have seen an increase in the amount of ORC activity, according to FMI’s Supermarket Security and Loss Prevention 2009 report. The survey found that 78 percent of grocery stores say they are allocating more resources to combat ORC.
About FMI
Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations on behalf of its 1,500 member companies - food retailers and wholesalers - in the United States and around the world. FMI's U.S. members operate approximately 26,000 retail food stores and 14,000 pharmacies. Their combined annual sales volume of $680 billion represents three-quarters of all retail food store sales in the United States. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from more than 50 countries. FMI's associate members include the supplier partners of its retail and wholesale members.
About eBay, Inc.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
About NRF
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2009 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.
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