Walgreens’ plan to combat increasing theft by locking products up at their stores has hurt sales, the company’s CEO said in a recent earnings call.

Walgreens' CEO talked about the flip side of investing in increased security on a recent earnings call.

In an earnings call, executive Tim Wentworth conceded that locking products up might not be the best move for boosting sales.

Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Duane Reade, acknowledged to investors during a Jan. 10 earnings call that the company's asset protection tactic of locking merchandise to prevent retail theft has slowed sales.

While locking up merchandise can reduce theft, it also deters paying customers, according to Walgreens. Over the years the pharmacy chain used strategy to combat shoplifting. CEO Tim Wentworth said the company’s decision to lock up products after reporting a 52% increase in stolen inventory has backfired,

Walgreens has come to find out that both shoplifters and customers are turned off when items are locked away. In an earnings call on Tuesday, the drug store’s CEO Tim Wentworth blamed declining sales on locked up items: “When you lock things up