Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd. (TASE:RMLI) pulled all the knives off its supermarket shelves earlier this week. One of the chain's employees said, 'Everyone knows that 70% of employees in branches are Arabs. The knives were taken away to show that we're 100% clean. We've also been told not to talk politics or about the situation. But that's not enough and some customers are staying away. They are shopping at rivals because they are scared to come to us."
Rami Levy confirmed to "Globes" that the knives had been removed and he is also aware that his Arab employees are deterring customers from coming to his stores. "I instructed that the knives be removed from the shelves but I did it discreetly so as not to show the world that I was being forced into it. I'm afraid of letting in a customer who'd do something. Why should I give him the weapon. It's not smart to put a guard on the door to check people and then give him a knife inside the store."
Levy added, "We tightened security inside stores with every manager and employee being told to be on alert. It's natural to be scared but I don't want extremists to beat me. Yesterday I went to a Jerusalem café and deliberately sat outside to show that I'm not scared but the city was empty. You get to Jerusalem and it's a ghost town."
However, despite the remarks of his employees, Levy insisted that sales in his Jerusalem branches have not been hit. "There are times when people don't come and the store is empty and then suddenly the store is full to bursting point." Levy said that 40% of his employees are Arabs.
Other chains have also taken knives off the shelves. Victory controlling shareholder and CEO Eyal Ravid said, "Yesterday afternoon I took the knives down to the warehouse just to be certain that God forbid somebody won't come and buy and use it.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 15, 2015
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