Holland and Barrett hires undercover detectives to patrol high street stores as thieves target honey and protein powder

HOLLAND and Barrett has put undercover detectives in its high street stores to combat shoplifting, as thieves target honey and gym supplements. The health and wellness retailer has hired private detectives in plain clothes to patrol its stores that have high levels of crime. Holland and Barrett has hired undercover detectives to patrol its high street stores Credit: Getty In an interview with The Times, boss Anthony Houghton said the behaviour on Britain’s high streets was “not acceptable”, adding: “It’s awful that we have to do this”. The retailer said expensive Manuka honey was one of the most targeted items by thieves, as well as its sports nutrition products, which includes gym supplements like protein powder and creatine. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! It said criminals were stealing these products from stores in order to sell them on. Holland and Barrett is working with a retail crime software company to track shoplifting, and deploys the private detectives in stores flagged as high-risk. Its 10,000 staff, who work across more than 700 stores in the UK, also wear body cams – as do employees in M&S, Tesco, Greggs and McDonald’s. In its most recent annual report, the wellness giant said it had seen a rise in in-store violence towards staff. Hiring plain-clothes detectives is the latest in a range of drastic moves being rolled out by high street retailers to combat a huge rise in shoplifting. The Sun revealed earlier this year how Greggs had been forced to axe its self-service displays, with staff instead handing customers their food and drink over a theft-proof counter. Most read in Money Shoplifting offences have soared past 500,000 in the last year, with thieves now striking three times a minute, figures show. Holland and Barrett was contacted by The Sun for comment. Comment now