Retailers have been faced with increases in shoplifting and retail theft. But anti-theft prevention can hurt retail sales, says the CEO of Walgreens.

Some retailers, like Walgreens, report that locking items behind displays to deter shoplifting may not be effective. Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth recently described theft prevention in stores as an ongoing and challenging struggle.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While many big-box chains now lock up merchandise as a means of combatting theft -- requiring shoppers to buzz for help in releasing a stick of deodorant or pack of disposable razors -- at least one retailer has publicly admitted that the practice is bad for business.

Walgreens is struggling to deter shoplifting at its stores, according to CEO Tim Wentworth, who described it as "a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately."

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.

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