When you think of socks, you probably don’t see a high shrink category. Socks, for the most part are relatively cheap. You can pick up a 12 pack for ten dollars, or so. Next time you’re in a shoe store, pay attention to some of the name brands. High end performance socks can go upwards of $20 a pair! Theft in this area can quickly add up. I worked as a loss prevention manager for a company that specialized in athletic footwear an apparel. It’s always going to be impossible to stop shoplifting completely, but a few simple measures in your store could help drastically reduce losses from theft.
About four years ago, I was conducting a routine audit of one of the stores in my district. I was making sure the managers were complying to the company’s physical security standards and that general safety practices were being adhered to. While in the footwear section of the store, I noticed a kid in his late teens acting a little odd while browsing the athletic socks. I called over to the loss prevention agent working in the store and we both began live observation. It wasn’t long before we began to witness the suspect remove and conceal about fifteen pairs of socks that retailed for $24.99 each. There were anti-shoplifting devices securing the socks, but he simply placed them down the front of his pants. As the suspect exited the store, an apprehension was attempted, however he fled with the merchandise. Since we won’t chase down a shoplifter, we made sure to give the video to local police and I went on about my day, albeit, a little disappointed and frustrated.
A few days went by and I found myself at another one of my store locations. I was in the store to close out an employee theft case. After the employee was arrested for theft, I walked the sales floor for a few minutes to clear my head. As I was walking though the footwear department, I saw the same shoplifting suspect that had stolen the socks from a different store location and ran. Again, I watched as he loaded his pants with varying sizes of all the same color socks. The checkpoint tags securing the socks didn’t seem to phase him. I contacted local police, but he was able to get out again before the police could arrive. Twice gotten by the same shoplifter. I was really frustrated. When the responding officer came to take my report, he asked to see the video. Upon viewing the recording, he recognized the suspect. He told me that my shoplifter was the quarterback of his kid’s high school football team.
It was Friday and there was no doubt a game. The officer asked if I would want to accompany him to the school, which was a ½ mile down the road. Eager for a road trip, I agreed. We spoke to the coach, who brought out our suspect. He admitted to shoplifting, but wouldn’t tell us what he had done with the merchandise. It was about this time that I noticed that the entire team was wearing the same style socks as what were stolen. I mentioned this to the officer and upon closer inspection; we proved that the socks were ours. On each sock, there was a hole where the anti-shoplifting device had been. The star quarterback had out-fitted his entire team with stolen socks.
For more information, contact us: anti-shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
When you think of socks, you probably don’t see a high shrink category. Socks, for the most part are relatively cheap. You can pick up a 12 pack for ten dollars, or so. Next time you’re in a shoe store, pay attention to some of the name brands. High end performance socks can go upwards of $20 a pair! Theft in this area can quickly add up. I worked as a loss prevention manager for a company that specialized in athletic footwear and apparel. It’s always going to be impossible to stop shoplifting completely, but a few simple measures in your store could help drastically reduce losses from theft.
About four years ago, I was conducting a routine audit of one of the stores in my district. I was making sure the managers were complying to the company’s physical security standards and that general safety practices were being adhered to. While in the footwear section of the store, I noticed a kid in his late teens acting a little odd while browsing the athletic socks. I called over to the loss prevention agent working in the store and we both began live observation. It wasn’t long before we began to witness the suspect remove and conceal about fifteen pairs of socks that retailed for $24.99 each. There were anti-shoplifting devices securing the socks, but he simply placed them down the front of his pants. As the suspect exited the store, an apprehension was attempted, however he fled with the merchandise. Since we won’t chase down a shoplifter, we made sure to give the video to local police and I went on about my day, albeit, a little disappointed and frustrated.
A few days went by and I found myself at another one of my store locations. I was in the store to close out an employee theft case. After the employee was arrested for theft, I walked the sales floor for a few minutes to clear my head. As I was walking though the footwear department, I saw the same shoplifting suspect that had stolen the socks from a different store location and ran. Again, I watched as he loaded his pants with varying sizes of all the same color socks. The Checkpoint Tags securing the socks didn’t seem to phase him. I contacted local police, but he was able to get out again before the police could arrive. Twice gotten by the same shoplifter. I was really frustrated. When the responding officer came to take my report, he asked to see the video. Upon viewing the recording, he recognized the suspect. He told me that my shoplifter was the quarterback of his kid’s high school football team.
It was Friday and there was no doubt a game. The officer asked if I would want to accompany him to the school, which was a ½ mile down the road. Eager for a road trip, I agreed. We spoke to the coach, who brought out our suspect. He admitted to shoplifting, but wouldn’t tell us what he had done with the merchandise. It was about this time that I noticed that the entire team was wearing the same style socks as what were stolen. I mentioned this to the officer and upon closer inspection; we proved that the socks were ours. On each sock, there was a hole where the anti-shoplifting device had been. The star quarterback had out-fitted his entire team with stolen socks.
For more information, contact us: anti-shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
It was finally spring time and I couldn’t be happier. The long, cold winter was finally behind us and baseball season was right around the corner. It was a transition time for the stores, as they worked to move the post-holiday goods out and began to fill with all the new baseball items for the season. It wasn’t long before we were receiving high end bats and gloves, and well, pretty much anything else you could ever need to make your game a winner. It also presented a unique challenge to prevent shoplifting in this category.
As the Loss Prevention manager for my store, I often conduct audits on the store’s point of sale system to ensure we don’t have a dishonest employee and to also look for indicators of external theft. A few refunds for the week caught my attention. There were several refunds for a four hundred dollar baseball glove. I knew we hadn’t sold that many, so I needed to look a little further. I pulled the videos of the refund transactions and saw that the same person had conducted the refund each time. Furthermore, during each refund, the Alpha 3 Alarm tag, meant to prevent shoplifting, was still attached to the glove.
I went to the glove display area to check the inventory counts. To my surprise, I wasn’t missing a single glove. In fact, I was over on the book inventory the same number of refunds. I really couldn’t figure it out. How could I be over on the books when I was certain that this individual had stolen the mitts that were refunded? It would be a no-brainer to me now, but back then, I was relatively new to the Loss Prevention world, so I had to fumble my way through this one.
I started investigating, but I was perplexed by the alpha security tag that was still on the product. I looked at the alarm record that the door greeter keeps and didn’t see a log entry for an alarm activation during the time period before the refund. If the subject came into the store with the glove, it surely would’ve activated the Nano Gate. I had to dig a little further. I went backwards on the CCTV system and found when the subject entered the store. I was shocked when I saw that she had entered the store with nothing in her hands. I followed her through the store and saw that she had went to the baseball aisle, selected the glove and simply brought it to the return desk.
I looked at every other time a glove was returned for the week and the MO matched every single time. I was not happy with the store team. How could they process a refund with a security device still attached to the product? How could the same cashier do this for the same person multiple times in one week and not get a manager involved? It brought to light some training opportunities in the store that were quickly addressed. We also were able to implement several refund polices that were aimed at eliminating this type of activity. It just goes to show that even with the most sophisticated security systems in place, there is no substitute for a well trained and alert store employee.
For more information, contact us: Prevent Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
It was finally spring time and I couldn’t be happier. The long, cold winter was finally behind us and baseball season was right around the corner. It was a transition time for the stores, as they worked to move the post-holiday goods out and began to fill with all the new baseball items for the season. It wasn’t long before we were receiving high end bats and gloves, and well, pretty much anything else you could ever need to make your game a winner. It also presented a unique challenge to prevent shoplifting in this category.
As the Loss Prevention manager for my store, I often conduct audits on the store’s point of sale system to ensure we don’t have a dishonest employee and to also look for indicators of external theft. A few refunds for the week caught my attention. There were several refunds for a four hundred dollar baseball glove. I knew we hadn’t sold that many, so I needed to look a little further. I pulled the videos of the refund transactions and saw that the same person had conducted the refund each time. Furthermore, during each refund, the Alpha 3 Alarm tag, meant to prevent shoplifting, was still attached to the glove.
I went to the glove display area to check the inventory counts. To my surprise, I wasn’t missing a single glove. In fact, I was over on the book inventory by the same number of refunds. I really couldn’t figure it out. How could I be over on the books when I was certain that this individual had stolen the mitts that were refunded? It would be a no-brainer to me now, but back then, I was relatively new to the Loss Prevention world, so I had to fumble my way through this one.
I started investigating, but I was perplexed by the Alpha Security Tag that was still on the product. I looked at the alarm record that the door greeter keeps and didn’t see a log entry for an alarm activation during the time period before the refund. If the subject came into the store with the glove, it surely would’ve activated the Nano Gate. I had to dig a little further. I went backwards on the CCTV system and found when the subject entered the store. I was shocked when I saw that she had entered the store with nothing in her hands. I followed her through the store and saw that she had went to the baseball aisle, selected the glove and simply brought it to the return desk.
I looked at every other time a glove was returned for the week and the MO matched every single time. I was not happy with the store team. How could they process a refund with a security device still attached to the product? How could the same cashier do this for the same person multiple times in one week and not get a manager involved? It brought to light some training opportunities in the store that were quickly addressed. We also were able to implement several refund polices that were aimed at eliminating this type of activity. It just goes to show that even with the most sophisticated security systems in place, there is no substitute for a well trained and alert store employee.
For more information, contact us: Prevent Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
If you’ve ever shopped for clothing in a department store, you have probably found discarded tags, hangers, old clothing left behind, and other signs of theft, especially in the fitting rooms. There are so many different ways to steal anyway, and there are websites devoted to instructing would be shoplifters on the best ways to get around clothing security measures. They tell them to double up items in one another to conceal the actual number they have. One site said if you intend to steal a shirt, the shirt you wear in should have a high collar so the stolen article is harder to detect. There are instructions on where to look for hidden tags, and how to deactivate them if possible. Baby strollers, big purses, and even umbrellas are the most recommended vehicles to get things out the door.
There are several different ideas for signs posted in the vicinity of the fitting rooms. One I saw in particular stated “Please don’t use the bathroom in here”. *shudders* More typical ones simply tell the customer what they are permitted to take in with them, and limit the number of items that are allowed to be taken in. Those can be effective for your honest, cash paying customer, but they don’t really do a great job of deterring thefts.
I have seen a wide spectrum of actual clothing security for fitting room. Some stores have associates working in and around the departments only. Customers are free to try things on at will, coming and going, and don’t appear to be monitored. Some stores have people assigned solely to the task of unlocking the doors to the rooms for people, but they seldom stay around to see them exit and verify what they come out with. One store I know of has two employees stationed there to count your items, give you a card with that number on it, and verify that it matches what you exit with. This approach works well and has the potential to be a great monitoring system. Unfortunately there are times the two employees are so busy chatting with one another, they barely notice when someone comes out.
Customer service and attention from an associate is one of the best ways I have seen to really have an effect on clothing security. I went to a small store recently to get a new outfit for a job interview. The clerk came to offer assistance immediately. She stayed close by, but did not hover. I made my choices and then asked to try them on. She unlocked the door to the fitting room, and granted me access. The mirrors are on the outside of the door, so I had to come out to see how it looked. (I thought that was a great idea because the lighting was better out there, however, if I intended to conceal items under my own clothing that would have made it harder for me to check every angle to be sure they couldn’t be seen!) She came over again and checked on me. I know we all get busy and sidetracked sometimes, but the excellent customer service this woman provided was some of the best clothing security I have witnessed. Clothing is all they sell, and they do a great job of protecting their merchandise with the simplest of measures.
For more information contact us: clothingsecurity.net or call 1.770.426.0547
If you’ve ever shopped for clothing in a department store, you have probably found discarded tags, hangers, old clothing left behind, and other signs of theft, especially in the fitting rooms. There are so many different ways to steal anyway, and there are websites devoted to instructing would be shoplifters on the best ways to get around clothing security measures. They tell them to double up items in one another to conceal the actual number they have. One site said if you intend to steal a shirt, the shirt you wear in should have a high collar so the stolen article is harder to detect. There are instructions on where to look for hidden tags, and how to deactivate them if possible. Baby strollers, big purses, and even umbrellas are the most recommended vehicles to get things out the door.
There are several different ideas for signs posted in the vicinity of the fitting rooms. One I saw in particular stated “Please don’t use the bathroom in here”. *shudders* More typical ones simply tell the customer what they are permitted to take in with them, and limit the number of items that are allowed to be taken in. Those can be effective for your honest, cash paying customer, but they don’t really do a great job of deterring thefts.
I have seen a wide spectrum of actual clothing security for fitting rooms. Some stores have associates working in and around the departments only. Customers are free to try things on at will, coming and going, and don’t appear to be monitored. Some stores have people assigned solely to the task of unlocking the doors to the fitting rooms for people, but they seldom stay around to see them exit and verify what they come out with. One store I know of has two employees stationed there to count your items, give you a card with that number on it, and verify that it matches what you exit with. This approach works well and has the potential to be a great monitoring system. Unfortunately there are times the two employees are so busy chatting with one another, they barely notice when someone comes out.
Customer service and attention from an associate is one of the best ways I have seen to really have an effect on clothing security. I went to a small store recently to get a new outfit for a job interview. The clerk came to offer assistance immediately. She stayed close by, but did not hover. I made my choices and then asked to try them on. She unlocked the door to the fitting room, and granted me access. The mirrors are on the outside of the door, so I had to come out to see how it looked. (I thought that was a great idea because the lighting was better out there, however, if I intended to conceal items under my own clothing that would have made it harder for me to check every angle to be sure they couldn’t be seen!) She came over again and checked on me. I know we all get busy and sidetracked sometimes, but the excellent customer service this woman provided was some of the best clothing security I have witnessed. Clothing is all they sell, and they do a great job of protecting their merchandise with the simplest of measures.
For more information contact us: Clothing Security or call 1.770.426.0547
