People stealing from you? Want to close your store? In SF you soon may not be allowed to close.
You're losing money? Too bad. You have to stay open.
Imagine that you run a grocery store chain, SuperShop. As of a few years ago things had been going pretty well for the business. The economy was generally humming along. Conditions were good enough in fact that you expanded into new cities, opening ten new stores. SuperShop was making money.
Then covid hit. Thankfully SuperShop was allowed to stay open and though you and your workers suffered in the decline you emerged in reasonably good shape.
Then came inflation. Suddenly the cost of inventory leapt skyward. Eggs, meat, milk, it all cost 30% more. Then the cost of labor increased. What was a $10/hour job became a $15/hour job. Still, you adjusted. Margins were squeezed, and you had to automate half of the register lines to compensate for the higher wages, but it still made sense to keep all of your current stores open. Life went on.
But now comes word from one of your regional managers that a few stores are seeing a sharp spike in theft. This spike coincides with new laws that now deem “minor” theft unworthy of prosecution. Your regional manager explains that in some locations people are simply walking through the doors, grabbing whatever they want, and walking right out without paying. Sometimes known thieves come back multiple times in a day. Your regional manager explains that given the fact that the District Attorney in the city refuses to prosecute this kind of theft that he is essentially powerless to stop the bleeding. You look at the store numbers. They are unsustainable. You’re losing millions of dollars per store in the areas where theft is not prosecuted.
In the next few days you make a hard decision. The four stores that are most prone to theft have to be shut down. There is no choice. If left open they will drag down the rest of the chain. You pick up the phone and call the lawyers to get the ball rolling.
“Sorry Bob but you can’t close those stores.” Says the lawyer.
“What do you mean I can’t close those stores? We own them. We are a private company. Of course we can close them.”
“I hear you Bob,” says the lawyer, “but in San Francisco, where these stores are, you have to give the city six months warning before you close. And even then they might not let you close if they deem it bad for the community.”
“You can’t be serious.” You say as you consider what it would mean to keep the stores open.
“I wish I wasn’t Bob. The new statute, The Grocery Protection Act, says that any person affected by a grocery store's failure to comply with the six month warning rule can initiate legal proceedings for damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate to remedy the violation.”
You look out the window of your office. “So what you are telling me is that we have to keep these wholesale disasters open so people can continue to pillage us for another six months?”
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