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

Over the years the pharmacy chain used strategy to combat shoplifting. Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said the company’s decision to lock up products after reporting a 52% increase in stolen inventory has backfired, according to multiple reports.

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

The top executive at Walgreens lamented the loss of sales from putting items like toothpaste behind lock and key to crack down on rampant shoplifting that has plagued pharmacy chains around the country.