Walgreens’ plan to combat increasing theft by locking products up at their stores has hurt sales, the company’s CEO said in a recent earnings call.

Retailers have been faced with increases in shoplifting and retail theft. But anti-theft prevention can hurt retail sales, says the CEO of Walgreens.

Walgreens has come to find out that both shoplifters and customers are turned off when items are locked away. In an earnings call on Tuesday, the drug store’s CEO Tim Wentworth blamed declining sales on locked up items: “When you lock things up

One of Walgreen's most visible anti-shoplifting strategies is having unintended consequences. Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Duane Reade, acknowledged to investors during a Jan.