The British Retail Consortium is set to chair an emergency meeting with its members this week as the industry braces for further damage caused by the far-right rioters.
It comes as the trade association warned that store staff were “fearing for their safety” as retailers including Sainsbury’s, Shoe Zone and Lush grapple with the recent wave of theft and vandalism.
The BRC is understood to have been reaching out to its members and has a meeting provisionally set for Wednesday, Retail Week reported.
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BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Many retail workers have been heading to work fearing their stores and their safety could be compromised by the looting and vandalism that has taken grip in various parts of the country.
“Some are already seeing the impact, as they spend their day cleaning up the damage caused by these selfish and criminal acts.”
Rioters in Hull broke their way into a Lush, Specsavers and Shoe Zone, while the Sainsbury’s on Manchester’s Mosley Street was forced to close after its shelves were ransacked. An Iceland was also looted in Middlesbrough.
A Lush spokesperson told Evening Standard: “We are devastated at what has happened to our beautiful shop in Hull and how our fellow retailers have also been treated.
“We are proud to be part of a multi-racial Britain and to be part of the wonderful, vibrant and diverse community of Hull…
Dickinson said: “The full force of the law should be brought to bear on those individuals who are committing criminal damage and theft against retailers and the communities they are part of.”
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of retail industry charity the Retail Trust, said it was seeing a rise in calls from retail staff fearing for their safety following the looting and vandalism.
“We are working closely with affected retailers to ensure their colleagues are getting the support they need to deal with any difficult experiences.
“We know there will be many more retail workers out there with worries and concerns so we’d encourage anyone to call the Retail Trust’s 24-hour helpline on 0808 801 0808 if they need in-the-moment wellbeing support or specialist help from our counselling team following incidents of in-store violence, criminal damage or theft.”
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