Cristina Hodgson
WITH summer comes a rise in temperatures and also a rise in petty thefts in grocery stores and supermarkets.
In fact in the summer, thefts in supermarkets cause losses of more than €100 million euros, being the season where most crimes of this type are registered.
While during the rest of the year the products most often stolen are cheeses and Iberian cured meats, in summer the trend changes. Suntan lotions, condoms, alcoholic beverages, sun creams and ice cream are five of the most stolen products.
And, somewhat bizarrely, each region in Spain has a different item on retail thieves’ most-wanted list.
According to the data from a study carried out by Checkpoint Systems among 17,000 Spanish businesses the most stolen products in each region during the summer months is as follows:
Andalucia: Sunscreens and mosquito repellents.
Aragon: Coffee capsules and makeup.
Asturias: Frozen hake.
Balearic Islands: Makeup.
Basque Country: Fresh produce and oils.
Canary Islands: Condoms.
Cantabria: Sunscreen.
Castilla-La Mancha: Tinned food and cheese.
Castilla y Leon: Sunglasses.
Catalonia: Wines and spirits.
Extremadura: Sunscreens and mosquito repellents.
Galicia: Tinned food and cheese.
Madrid: Ice cream and makeup.
Murcia: Flip Flops.
Navarra: Razors.
La Rioja: Wines and spirits.
Valencia: Sunscreen.
Interesting to see that sunglasses are more popular with thieves in the north rather than the south of Spain, that frozen fish is on retail thieves’ most-wanted list in an area renowned for fresh fish and that coffee is nabbed in a place admired throughout the rest of mainland Spain for its fruit.
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