Footage of someone smashing a Woolworths self-serve gate with a hammer has gone viral online, with an activist group claiming the act was retaliation for increasing food prices.
The video, posted by a group called the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance (WACA), shows a person walking up to a self-serve gate inside a store in Moorabbin, Victoria on Tuesday, before pulling a hammer out of their pocket and hitting the gate several times.
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The person then throws what appears to be several Woolworths price tickets onto the ground, before fleeing.
WACA also posted a picture of several posters which appear to have been left behind with the words “smash the gates”.
The new self-serve gates are the latest piece of security tech to be added to the supermarket’s arsenal in a bid to stop rising shoplifting activity.
The automatic gates were announced in August this year and are being trialed alongside high-tech surveillance at self-serve checkouts at selected stores across Australia.
The new security measure works by using rooftop sensors to track customers as they leave self-serve registers.
If the sensors identify a shopper has pretended to pay or is attempting to walk straight out, the gates will stay closed and block their exit.
WACA said customers are “fed up” with Woolworths — which the group called the “real thief” — and claimed customers do not want to be “falsely imprisoned”.
“The shopping giant has made more profits than ever during a pandemic and cost of living crisis, raking in $1.6 billion dollars,” the group said.
“Woolworths has also been accused of exploiting the public by significantly ramping up prices, while families struggle to put food on the table.
“Further escalations are likely and may cost the company thousands, repairing not just their security devices but also their image.”
Woolworths, which accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all supermarket sales in Australia, recorded a 4.6 per cent profit increase in the last financial year.
Profit excluding non-recurring items such as revaluations of non-core business interests came in at $1.62 billion for the year, while the company made an overall profit of $1.72 billion.
Woolworths said no team members or customers were injured in the incident.
“The safety of our team members is our highest priority,” a spokesperson said.
“There is no place for this type of vandalism, and we’re assisting police with their inquiries.”
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