1) “missing merchandise” or “shrinkage” if you prefer ≠ theft
2) they, and subsequently the media, heavily implied retail theft was on the rise and not just that, but specifically “boogeyman style theft” even though theft numbers have remained the same
My understanding of this article is not that they retracted their assertions about the amount of missing merchandise.
My understanding is that they withdrew their assertion that half of the total missing merchandise was attributable to organized crime.