Last week, the Washington Retail Association (WR) team, including Board Member and Southcenter General Manager Navdeep Singh, CEO Renée Sunde, Director of Policy & Government Affairs Crystal Leatherman, and Senior Executive Legislative Assistant Kathie Davies, visited Macy’s at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila for a behind-the-scenes tour and strategy session focused on addressing organized retail crime (ORC).
WR extends sincere thanks to Store Manager Cameron Aman and her team for their warm hospitality, and to Dermot Fitzsimons, Senior Manager of Asset Protection and Public Sector Liaison, for facilitating the visit. Macy’s Asset Protection team, Rebecca Higbee, Christian Bird, and Christopher DiFonzo, showcased cutting-edge loss prevention technologies and robust merchandise protection strategies.
The tour brought together key partners, including prosecuting attorneys from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the City of Tukwila. The session fostered meaningful dialogue around collaborative approaches to combating ORC and reaffirmed a shared commitment to action through the newly established public-private partnership between the Washington State AG’s Office and Washington Retail Association.
At the conclusion of the visit, Renée Sunde and Tienney Milner, Chief of the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Section, invited Macy’s Asset Protection team to join the monthly ORC Task Force meetings. Macy’s will share how their investigative techniques and advanced technology are being used to disrupt ORC networks and dismantle fencing operations.
Retailers across the state are encouraged to participate in the monthly ORC Task Force meetings, a valuable platform to increase transparency, enhance intelligence-sharing, identify repeat offenders, and strengthen the overall impact of these efforts statewide.
“It’s inspiring to see such dedication and innovation on the ground level. We look forward to continuing to partner with Macy’s and other retailers to address ORC head-on. Thank you to everyone who shared their expertise and ideas; this type of collaboration is critical to creating safer, more vibrant retail environments.” — Renée Sunde, WR CEO
WR is proud to support these vital partnerships and remains committed to building safer retail environments and more resilient communities.
For more information about WR’s ORC and public safety initiatives, or to join the ORC Task Force calls, please contact Crystal Leatherman at [email protected].
