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Even dollar stores are getting slammed by the retail theft crisis.

Dollar Generals shares tanked Thursday after the discounter provided a bleak outlook for the rest of the year because of rising thefts and weak consumer demand at its 19,000 stores nationwide.

The Tennessee-based company warned Wall Street that profits may plunge by as much as 34% compared to its previous forecast for an 8% decline to flat growth as cut its full-year profit and sales targets for the second time this year.

“Our revised guide is really a function of the slower transactions that we’re seeing, and higher expected shrink,” Dollar General CFO Kelly Dilts said on a call with analysts after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell short of Wall Street estimates.

The reference to “shrink” — an industry term for stolen or damaged goods — follows a troubling trend cited by other major retailers who have blamed the scourge of organized retail theft for impacting their bottom line.

Target has said it expects to lose $500 million because of theft at its stores.

Dollar Tree said in May that it would need to raise prices in some regions because of persistent shoplifting.

Dollar General’s gross profit as a percentage of net sales fell 126 basis points in the quarter as retail shrink worsened. It flagged $100 million in additional shrink headwinds since its last earnings call in June.

CEO Jeff Owen did not elaborate on the extent of the theft, instead pointing to still-stubborn inflation for shoppers feeling “financially constrained.

Dollar Generals core customers are feeling the acute pressure of the cost-of-living-crisis, echoed Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData, in a report Thursday. 

Dollar General lowered its same store sales guidance to a decline of about 1% and 1% increase compared to its previous forecast of a 1% to 2% increase.

The companys comparable sales dropped by 1% in the second quarter ended Aug. 4 and the company expects a pileup of inventory to be a drag on its earnings for the rest of the year as it slashes prices on items that havent been selling.

The quarter “marks the fourth consecutive guide down for Dollar General, which admittedly creates further uncertainty if we are hitting the bottom yet,” said Raymond James analyst Bobby Griffin.

The stock nosedived down more than 12% Thursday to close at $138.59.

It has tracked a nearly three-and-a-half-year low, slumping as much as 18.2% to hit $128.96 — making it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 index this year.

As inflation continued to batter shoppers this year, more customers flocked to Dollar General and its rival Dollar Tree among other big discounters.

But food and other essential items are less profitable for those stores as profit margins on food are anemic.

While we are not satisfied with our overall financial results, we made significant progress in the second quarter improving execution in our supply chain and our stores, as well as reducing our inventory growth rate and further strengthening our price position, Owen said in a statement. 

With Post wires

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Robbie Williams forced to cancel world tour gig in ‘interests of public safety’

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Robbie Williams forced to cancel world tour gig in 'interests of public safety'

Robbie Williams has said he is “deeply sorry” his concert in the Turkish city of Istanbul has had to be cancelled “in the interests of public safety”.

The former Take That singer said it was his “dream” to perform at Atakoy Marina on Tuesday but the decision by city authorities to cancel the show “was beyond our control”.

Williams’ Britpop world tour began in May and has taken him to cities including London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki and Athens.

The 51-year-old Angels singer said in a post on Instagram to his 3.7m followers: “The last thing I would ever want to do is to jeopardise the safety of my fans – their safety and security come first.

“We were very excited to be playing Istanbul for the first time, and purposely chose the city as the final show of the Britpop tour.

“To end this epic run of dates in front of my Turkish fans was my dream, given the close connections my family have with this wonderful country.

“To everyone in Istanbul who wanted to join the 1.2 million people who have shared this phenomenal tour this year with us, I am deeply sorry. We were so looking forward to this show, but the decision to cancel it was beyond our control.”

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Williams is still expected to perform a small ticketed gig on Thursday at Camden’s Dingwalls venue in London.

He will run through his upcoming album Britpop, which is yet to be released, in full, with his first solo LP, Life Thru A Lens.

After leaving Take That in 1995, Williams released his chart-topping debut album in 1997, and has achieved seven UK number one singles and 15 UK number one albums.

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Healthcare AI firm Heidi valued at £345m after Point72 backing

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Healthcare AI firm Heidi valued at £345m after Point72 backing

A healthcare AI company which claims to be used by more than 60% of NHS GPs will this week announce a funding injection led by one of Wall Street’s most prominent investors.

Sky News has learnt that Heidi, which promises to reduce doctors’ workloads by removing layers of bureaucracy from their daily tasks, will unveil a $65m (£48m) Series B fundraising which will value the company at $465m (£346m).

The round has been led by Point72 Private Investments, part of the investment empire of Steven Cohen, the billionaire asset management tycoon.

Existing investors including Blackbird, Headline and Latitude – which is part of the London-based venture capital group LocalGlobe – are also participating in the funding boost.

The raise brings the total sum of funding injected into Heidi since it was founded by a trio of Australian healthcare professionals to nearly $100m.

Heidi says its technology is now used to support more than 340,000 patient consultations each week in the UK.

It adds that organisations utilising it include One Care and Modality Partnership, the NHS’s largest GP “super-partnership”.

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Heidi Health CEO, Dr Thomas Kelly. Pic: Heidi Health
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Heidi Health CEO, Dr Thomas Kelly. Pic: Heidi Health

Heidi is also running pilot programmes with NHS Trusts across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative – a group of hospitals serving a local population of approximately 2.2 million people – as well as One LSC, a collective of five NHS Trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria which serves nearly 1.8 million people.

The company says its administrative aids have already saved British doctors 3 million hours annually by cutting paperwork and other bureaucracy.

It automates tasks such as clinical documentation, evidence search, and follow-up communications with patients.

More widely, Heidi claims to have supported more than 70 million patient consultations globally over the last 18 months, returning more than 18 million hours to frontline clinicians by streamlining administrative functions.

“It is untenable that healthcare demand continues to rise while clinical time continues to shrink,” Dr Thomas Kelly, the CEO and co-founder of Heidi, said.

“Building a sustainable healthcare system requires expanding clinical capacity without compromising clinician wellbeing or patient safety.”

The new funding will be used to accelerate Heidi’s expansion in the US, UK and Canada, including doubling its workforce in Britain to meet growing NHS demand.

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“What we’re witnessing with Heidi in the UK’s NHS isn’t just fast growth, it’s a clinician-led movement,” said Ferdi Sigona, a partner at Latitude.

“When doctors themselves are championing a tool so passionately – from individual practices to major NHS Trusts serving millions of patients – we know we’re backing a company with universal appeal across healthcare.”

Alongside the funding round, Heidi is also expected to announce the appointment of Paul Williamson, a former executive at the fintech Plaid, as chief revenue officer, and former Microsoft chief medical officer Dr Simon Kos to the same role.

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‘We don’t have anything for winter’: Families fear months ahead after earthquake wiped out entire villages in Afghanistan

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'We don't have anything for winter': Families fear months ahead after earthquake wiped out entire villages in Afghanistan

It is a breathtaking and, at points, pretty perilous journey through the remote mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan.

We’re trying to reach the Mazar Dara valley, where an earthquake wiped out whole villages. The force of the quake ripped apart roads, cut off communities and buried multiple generations.

It’s slow going – navigating around sheer drops on a road scattered with rocks and boulders. But after three hours, we start to see the first signs of the disaster that, within minutes, plunged this region into darkness.

Last month's earthquake killed some 2,000 people and was one of the worst Afghanistan has seen
Image:
Last month’s earthquake killed some 2,000 people and was one of the worst Afghanistan has seen

We are driving into Wadir, a village in Nurgal District, where everyone we meet has lost someone. The earthquake, which struck around midnight, killed many in their sleep here, especially women and children.

Standing by a makeshift graveyard peppered with white flags and gravestones, we meet little Rahmanullah. He’s eight but looks much younger, and his glassy eyes look heavy with grief.

His fragile, tiny hands point to the grave where his six-year-old brother Abouzar is buried. He was sleeping alongside him.

The earthquake struck around midnight and killed many in their sleep
Image:
The earthquake struck around midnight and killed many in their sleep

The only reason Rahmanullah survived was because his older sibling, Saied Rahman, was able to pull him out.

“I was asleep when I heard a crash,” Rahmanullah tells me. “My brother said ‘it’s an earthquake, get up, or the building will fall on you’.

“He took my hand and pulled me out, put me on some wood, and said, ‘get out quick’.”

Saied Rahman pulled Rahmanullah from his home during the quake
Image:
Saied Rahman pulled Rahmanullah from his home during the quake

Rahmanullah takes us up a steep hill to show us what remains of his home.

On the edge of a vast drop, it is now a mound of rubble – only a broken bed and shoes left behind.

Rahmanullah (pictured) lost his younger brother Abouzar after the earthquake in Wadir
Image:
Rahmanullah (pictured) lost his younger brother Abouzar after the earthquake in Wadir

The earthquake killed some 2,000 people and was one of the worst Afghanistan has seen. And it came at an already desperate time for Afghans – with an economic crisis, rising unemployment, drought and malnutrition.

The quake's epicentre was near the city of Jalalabad
Image:
The quake’s epicentre was near the city of Jalalabad

In Afghanistan, there has been a seemingly endless cycle of hunger and displacement. Compounding those problems since the Taliban took control in 2021, aid has dropped off a cliff.

This year, the US cut almost all of its funding to the country, and it’s had a massive impact.

The demise of the US Agency for International Development this year has forced the closure of 400 health facilities and left hundreds of thousands of Afghans without consistent access to food.

Nearly everyone we spoke to in this region praised the speed and effectiveness of the Taliban response – the government sending in helicopters to evacuate the injured and the dead.

White tents have sprouted up next to each affected village too – a sign international aid was able to get to these far-flung communities against the odds.

But winter is coming, and sickness is starting to spread. In Andarlackhak, we meet Ajeebah. She’s keen to speak to us in private, in the tent she now calls home.

She married at 10 years old and went on to have 10 children. But five of them died in the quake – three-year-old Shabhana, seven-year-old Wali Khan, nine-year-old twins Razimah and Nasreen, and 13-year-old Saleha.

Ajeebah, with her niece Zarmina, 22, daughter Asiya, 8, and son Abdul Raziq, 11
Image:
Ajeebah, with her niece Zarmina, 22, daughter Asiya, 8, and son Abdul Raziq, 11

Their mother is clearly still processing the immense, almost unimaginable loss.

“I don’t want to bury them. What could I do?” she says. “I can’t keep them outside. But I don’t want to put them in a graveyard.”

Outside, dozens of children are playing, many orphaned by the disaster.

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Children, many of whom are orphaned, are living in tents
Image:
Children, many of whom are orphaned, are living in tents

Malnutrition is a major issue in Afghanistan and keeping these children fed will be an overwhelming burden in the months ahead.

With women unable to work under the Taliban and a struggling economy, families were already in dire straits.

Mohammad Salem, who’s 45, has injured his foot. And he’s deeply worried about the months ahead.

“We don’t have anything for winter,” he said. “The snow is coming, and our children are living in tents.

“They’re lying in the dirt. We don’t have any shelter for the future. Everything we had is destroyed.”

Mohammad Salem injured his foot and is deeply worried about the months ahead
Image:
Mohammad Salem injured his foot and is deeply worried about the months ahead

The Taliban forbids physical contact between men and women who are not family members, even in emergencies. That raised fears some women would be left without help.

However, the villagers we spoke to praised the rescue efforts and said female aid workers were able to reach them.

But what hangs over every community in these deep and now scarred valleys is the fear of the hardships to come and the realisation that their communities, their families, have been changed forever.

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