Appriss Retail Launches The Takeback Talks, a Closed-Door Executive Community for Total Retail Loss Leaders

Vetted VP-level leaders across loss prevention (LP), finance, operations, and customer experience will gather monthly to address the $166 billion in preventable retail loss

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Appriss Retail, the total retail loss solution for omnichannel retailers, today announced The Takeback Talks, a curated, invitation-only community for VP-level retailer executives. Each month, leaders across LP, finance, operations, ecommerce, and customer experience meet for virtual, candid, closed-door discussions on the full picture of retail loss.

The first session takes place April 15, headlined by a conversation with David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations for the National Retail Federation. Executives that are VP-level or above at their retailer organization who are interested in joining the discussion can request an invitation via The Takeback Talks page.

The April 15 discussion will highlight takeaways from Appriss Retail’s The 2026 Total Retail Loss Benchmark Report, which found $166 billion in preventable retail loss sitting across returns fraud and abuse ($100B) and shrink ($66B). The report’s central finding: total retail loss is a cross-functional challenge, and most retailers are still treating it like three separate problems owned by three separate teams.

“Loss prevention can’t own this alone, and it shouldn’t have to,” said Michael Osborne, CEO of Appriss Retail. “The data is unambiguous. So much of retail loss is avoidable. But preventing it requires LP, finance, operations, and customer experience in the same conversation, working from the same picture. The Takeback Talks exists to make that happen through open, private discussions.”

During the inaugural session, Johnston will be joined by executives from leading retailers who have already accepted invitations. Some of those include:

• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Winn-Dixie
• J.Crew
• Foot Locker
• Burlington
• Sam’s Club

“The 2026 Total Retail Loss Benchmark Report confirms what many of us already suspect — shrink-only and fraud-only approaches leave most of the problem unaddressed,” said Sarah Cascone, CMO of Appriss Retail and host of The Takeback Talks. “The executives who can change that need to be in the same room, tackling questions like, ‘Who owns retail loss?’ That’s what we’re fixing. That’s why we built this community. Together, we can collaborate on strategies and reduce loss.”

The Takeback Talks is part of Appriss Retail’s broader commitment to advancing the industry conversation around total retail loss, alongside The Takeback, Appriss Retail’s dedicated newsletter for retail loss leaders.

Retailer executives interested in joining The Takeback Talks can request an invitation at The Takeback Talks registration page.

About Appriss Retail

Appriss Retail is the total retail loss solution for omnichannel retail, unifying high-quality data across stores, online, and customer service to reduce returns, cut shrink, and manage incidents. Our products — Engage to reduce returns, Secure to cut shrink, and Incident to centralize visibility — help retailers move from reactive loss control to strategic profit protection. Together, they empower organizations to make better operations decisions, strengthen accountability, and put hundreds of millions back to the bottom line. Covering 40% of all U.S. transactions and active in 45 countries, Appriss Retail is trusted by 60+ of the top 100 U.S. retailers to deliver lasting performance improvement. Learn more at apprissretail.com.