How to minimize thief losses and increase shop’s profitability

Underwear joins the category of most stolen goods. According to market experts, theft losses average level estimated at a rate of 2-5% of shop’s turnover. In exact amounts, while the general value of underwear market is $3.5 billion, every year shop and boutiques owners lose about $120 millions because of thefts!

Alas, but problem of stealing can’t be extirpated. But to influence sad statistics and reduce losses to minimum is possible. The main instruments for struggling thieves are up-to-date engineered safety features, and first of all theft protection systems which help to minimize losses for 40-60% after being installed.

Who is stealing from shops?

2 relative types can be determined among shops’ stealing customer – “amateurs” and “professionals”. “Amateurs” steal spontaneously, seldom and unskillfully, for want of “anything to do” and for sensory acuity. They act in principle: if there’s an opportunity to steal and risk is low, they must try for sure. “Amateur” category consists of people of different social groups varying in status and income rate.

But most often underwear is stolen by thieves with resale purpose. Stealing is often “professional” main income resource and they target on gain. Professional thieves can be of any age – stealing is practiced by teenagers, middle-age people and even pensioners. Several years ago 16-year-old boy carried 54 underwear sets out of a Saint-Petersburg’s boutique.

Professionals make about 20% of all thefts in shops, but they steal the most expensive goods and are responsible for 80% of stolen underwear. Many of them visit the same shop several times a week and use foil in bags or clothes. For example, one stealer was detained 3 times: first time he stole the whole lot of stockings in total value of $200, half a year later he “accidentally” grabbed 4 suits, and about 3 months after was detained again with “favorite” good, hidden in his clothes.

How it happens

One of prevalent stealing methods is to take several suits to fitting-room and to put one of them on. Absent-minded seller who doesn’t check the number of taken items is chosen to pass through, or seller is being diverted by “assistant”. Both “amateurs” and “professionals” try to neutralize firm sensors which are stack to clothes and are taken off by personnel with the help of special remover after payment is made. Protecting labels, placed on clothes, are just torn away. “Professionals” use special technical equipment, cutting pliers for firm sensors and magnetic removers are prevailing. That’s why we recommend to use both firm sensors and hidden in goods and invisible for thieves protecting labels for protecting the most expensive goods. Besides, professional stealers use various ways and methods in their "work". For example, they sew secret pockets to clothes, belt with hooks or put on two trousers sewed together at the bottom and forming one big pocket. One more method is used for goods sold in multipacks: cheap item is taken out of the pack and expensive one takes its place.

The most popular device among professional thieves is special bag for shop stealing - booster bag. Such bag is interlaid with foil which makes firm sensors and special labels almost impossible to determine with usual protecting systems. So thieve don't need to spend time and efforts for destroying sensors or neutralize them.

"Booster-bag" stealers' favorite method is sweeping – fast stealing. They don't spend time for safety equipment; they just fill their bags with goods in several seconds. Booster bags look quite natural in the shop floor, a lot of things can be hidden in them and no traces left. Sometimes foil is used in other ways - thieves make clothes' lining of it and hide stolen things under it. Anyway shops lose big amounts of money with such thefts. Most shops are afraid of publicity and prefer to keep back theft cases in order not to attract other stealers with specialized bags. Bag or clothes with foil lining look absolutely like normal.

There are several promptings which can help to discover booster bag. For example, it's heavy. It's the result of more then 30 layers of foil being used. If a bag of a suspicious customer weight too much or looks like too voluminous, it's a cause examining it more thoroughly. Foil lining can be also used in very spacious jackets. Another sign helping to find out thieves: soft bags with foil layer possesses a property of keeping deformations, so you can crook it's corner to check - booster bag will keep a sharp turn.

What is a system against thefts?

Special system for protecting against stealing - it's electronic system EAS (Electronical Article Surveillance), which protects goods from stealing and frightens possible stealers. Electronic systems include firm sensors tackled to goods, anti-steal gates situated at the exit of the shop, deactivators for neutralizing sensors and protective labels and special removers for taking off multi-usable firm sensors, situated on cash desk. The acting principle of all the systems is based on sending and receiving electromagnetic waves from sensors to antennas - when trying to take off any item illegally, passing the gate zone, sound or light signal appear.

According to oscillation frequency all protecting system can be divided into 4 mail groups: radio, acoustic, electro and radio-magnetic. All of them are widely used. But a lot of parameters are necessary to analyze in every single case for determining the best type of equipment for a concrete shop, because every type has its weak and strong sides. For example, you must take into consideration cooperation of protecting label and sensors with different kinds of goods, possibility of using multiple-use sensors, anti-thieve gates' wide, the level of noise in the place of system's localization, the price of deactivators, sensors and the system in general, coefficient of activation of the system in the moment of taking protecting label through the gates and so on.

Which systems are used in boutiques?

For clothes boutiques’ protection anti-stealing radio- and acoustic antennas are placed at the exit. Noncontact deactivators with built-in sound signal indicating protecting labels’ deactivation and firm sensors removers are used on pay desks. Sound signal helps to save time for customers’ service because cashier doesn’t need to look for hidden protecting labels (they are being deactivated at the distance of 20-25 centimeters). Protecting labels of different technologies are used to protect goods. One of the most important requirements is obscurity and inaccessibility for customer as well as impossibility to remove it from the good’s surface. That’s why such labels are often disguised as price-label or bar-codes, they can be also stack from inside and so on.

For effective protection of expensive underwear which is the most popular among dishonest customers both protecting labels and firm sensors are used. But it’s necessary to remember which goods are marked with double-defense and to take an extra “accessory” off after payment otherwise double protection is useless. To separate label and good sellers use special magnetic keys-removers.

Firm sensor (with special lock) is made of shockproof plastic which is hardly being destroyed with mechanical force and is taken off the good only with the help of special equipment. It supplies maximum protection. Very tiny sensors exist in acoustic-magnetic technology, they are stack to clothes and do not interfere trying on. Tally is stack to thin cloth of underwear with pin having special sharpening, it doesn't torn fibers but moves them aside and goes between them. Such label can't be taken off because it has a system of metal balls inside, which press the pin firmly. For the best protection some labels have special coloring pins. If you pull it, ampoule inside it opens automatically and paint spoils the good. Protecting sensors must be attached very strong but must not spoil item's appearance or make a trouble for customer while trying on. You must not attach firm labels in zippers, holes for laces and so on. If good is impossible to pierced through by pin (leather underwear for example), labels are attached by metal strings, going through any hole or buckle. Nowadays there are specialized protecting labels for very expensive underwear, they are more expensive then usual ones because more complicated to produce, but are demanded at the market because are very effective.

For the best protection of underwear in multipacks it's necessary to staple items inside with label so that thieve can't take off or change items, and one more label must be stack to a pack itself. For soldered multipacks (for example with tights) acoustic-magnetic technology is using special labels, they have a special wedge-shaped form and can be placed inside a pack without opening it. Shops are protecting themselves from booster bags with the radio technology system with built-in metaldetector. Such anti-theft antennas allow to find out a customer with booster bag and then, according to shop's safety policy, to limit this customer's access (for example, by asking him to give his bag to cloak-room) or to follow him inside the shop to prevent stealing. Acoustic-magnetic system also have extra defense - anti-theft equipment have built-in alarming system for firm sensors' removers Super Tag which helps to protect a shop from carrying them inside illegaly.

Advantages of acoustic-magnetic technology systems

Acoustic-magnetic technological systems are more effective - working coefficient is not less then 95%. Acoustic-magnetic anti-theft systems are developed and produced by ADT corporation (Sensormatic trade mark). Diapason of these systems' work is less then others effected by electromagnetic noise and noises, that's why possibility of false signals is minimal (such technological characteristic is mostly actual for boutiques, situated in shopping centers, where noise level is very high). This thing is very important for fashion clothes boutique: security has no need to make extra problems with customer because of false alarm, which often happens to systems working in other diapasons. There are many cases when alarm takes attention of security from real stealers because of new notes.

And besides, good customer can be offended with alarm and being blamed false. Security question effects shop's image and even the image of all the network. Unlike other technologies acoustic-magnetic systems effectively protect the most wide gates - the new line of antitheft Sensormatic antennas provide 9.6 meters. Acoustic-magnetic systems are best decision for boutiques and shops demanding not only high level of safety but also appearance of anti-theft equipment. Wide range of acousticmagnetic systems can satisfy anybody, even the most demanding client. There are mono-systems (1 antenna), models with original design, including "invisible systems", absolutely invisible for customers, and also systems with possibility of putting advertising and informational materials.

How much is boutique's protection?

As a rule, security investments are easily refundable. The key moment of counting profitability is protection system - and it's necessary to take into account not only anti-theft antenna's cost but also technical characteristics (the less it's working level, the more losses and longer payback terms), the cost of materials and service.

For example choosing cheap system (those are mostly Russian produced antennas among supplied at the market nowadays) you must take into consideration that cheap electronics are built-in there - and that's the "brain" of all the system. So profitability of installing such systems is temporary and mostly as a result psychological effect – false economy which can turn into more exploitation expenses, connected with supplying work and technical maintenance.

But there's no need to make opposite extremely choice - the most expensive models of radio technology having same effective characteristics obtain excess functions which is mostly of no use in the process of work but enlarges terms of profitability. Besides, you must take into account the terms of investments refunding depends of a range of other factors including local economic conditions, assortment, season and a number of "professionals" visiting shop. An average refund cycle of investments made in anti-theft system lasts for 1 year but if stealing level had been very high and losses had been very substantial, security investments can be refunded in 1-2 months. Maybe, security guard is cheaper?

Often shops prefer to use only physical guard as in old times. But it's a pity, the result of securities' work is not always adequate to financial and organization resources spent. Low effectiveness of security's work is often provided by possibility of cooperation with criminals. According to statistics about half of all the thefts is made by personnel (shares of customers' stealing and dishonest personnel's stealing depends much on which risk group is controlled  y technical anti-stealing methods). By the way about 86% of big trade companies (this research was provided among American enterprises) pay the most attention to struggling with personnel's stealing.

The second argument for technical security equipment is impossibility of supplying guard to every good and every customer. Besides, simple suspicions are not prove of stealing fact - and security personnel has not right to examine clients. While using video control allows not only to find out criminal but also prove his fault in conflict of trade company and client.

How to provide regular work of anti-theft system?

Any system, even the best one, needs professional technical support of specialists who can prevent possible breaks of equipment. Because any technical problem can cause serious losses which can exceed all the result of installing expenses.

That's why security systems' supplier or service company must have enough resource for fixing equipment in shortest terms. Service contracts must include time interval for specialist's arrival (in hours) and extra equipment for exact customer. Operative reaction and fixing disorders in shortest terms are result of organized system of technical support when central office controls every clients' objects. For example SM TRADE company uses 3-level system for this purpose: no matter the clients' localization, he need only make a call to call-center's dispatcher for getting technical support.

Operator will fix the apply, identify the problem and will give orders to next level according to regalement. The effectiveness of this system's work is a result of process organization scheme, professional level of specialists, expanse of network which includes more then 250 regional partners from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. Finally we'd like to mention that this material consists of the most common recommendations and choosing the system you must understand that the most effective system is chosen taking into consideration all the conditions of every exact shop.

Famous thieves

Julia Obertas, Russian figure skating team member, on 25th of January 2003 after the final of Europe championship in Swedish city Malm was arrested in one of local shops when trying to carry out underwear costing $ 45, under her clothes.

Waynona Rider, american actress, was arrested on 12th of December 2001 in one of big shops of luxurious Los Angeles' district Beverly Hills for trying to steal clothes total cost more then 5.6 thousand dollars. Rider was convicted and was sentenced with probation to 3 years, 480 hours of social works and 10 thousand dollars penalty.

Mathias Rust, famous German who landed his plane Sessna on the Red Square in 1987, was caught in 2001 in Hamburg while trying to steal $81-dollar sweater from the shop. Court fined former celebrity for 4.5 thousand dollars.

Is your security system reliable? Make a simple test to check your security system's reliability. Take a usual shopping bag and cover it, including the bottom, with several layers of foil (the more layers, the harder to discover protecting label/sensor). Put it into another bag. So foil will be between two bags. Now put into in it several expensive goods having all safety sensors and pass your modern anti-theft system.. Prepare for shock! Notice: we don't declare any secrets here – information about foil bags and their production is widely available in Internet. Shop stealers know everything about them. Now you know too.

Dear reader!

If you've got interested in this article theme and / or you'd like to get some extra information about the problem, email to info@smtrade.ru or call (495) 788-94-98.

Andrey Labytsin director of security systems' department SM TRADE

© www.modnoe.ru