Industry News by Robert L. DiLonardo DiLonardo is a well-known authority on the electronic article surveillance business, the cost justification of security products and services, and retail accounting. He is the principal of Retail Consulting Partners, LLC (www.retailconsultingllc.com), a firm that provides strategic and tactical guidance in retail security equipment procurement. DiLonardo can be reached at 727-709-6961 or by email at rdilonar@tampabay.rr.com.
ECR Europe Announces Shrink Study
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fficient Consumer Response Europe (ECR Europe) recently announced the launch of a four-year, multi-project study focused upon how new technologies and business formats impact malicious and non-malicious losses in retail. ECR Europe is a trade group consisting of retailers, consumer products manufacturers, importers, logistics providers, and other entities involved in the successful pursuit of collaborative management across the retail supply chain. Its European Shrinkage Work Group will be collaborating with the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester (U.K.), headed by Professor Adrian Beck, a well-known expert in the field. Consumer brands involved in the project include Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal Paris, GlaxoSmithKline, Heineken, Bacardi, Diageo, and Wilkinson. Retailers involved include Tesco, Metro Group, Ralph Lauren, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, and Carrefour Belgium. The study is to be funded by a generous grant from Checkpoint Systems.
Rather than focus solely upon theft, researchers plan to identify what Beck calls “profit drainers across business functions.” Beck believes that the retail loss prevention industry should recognize “that a key purpose of a business is to generate and protect profit and then consider loss within that framework.” Rather than focus solely upon theft, researchers plan to identify what Beck calls “profit drainers across business functions.” Beck believes that the retail loss prevention industry should recognize “that a key purpose of a business is to generate and protect profit and then consider loss within that framework.” Judging by the list of projects scheduled for the first twelve months, the group has identified timely and relevant topics that have been in the forefront of recent discussions among loss prevention practitioners: ■ Understanding the impact of loss on on-shelf availability; ■ Charting the potential impact of developments in mobile scanning technology;
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E xploring the links between employee satisfaction and loss; and Identifying the challenges of managing loss in the multichannel retail environment. The ECR Europe Shrinkage Work Group is co-chaired by John Fonteijn, head of group asset protection at Royal Ahold, and Colin Peacock, customer development director, on-shelf availability, for Procter & Gamble. The group is an active forum that provides a unique, fresh look at the problem of loss as well as providing ongoing and up-to-date support catering to the needs of the retail community. The University of Leicester is considered to be one of the leading research institutions in the U.K. Beck has published a number of papers covering retail security issues, several that have appeared in this magazine, including a collaboration with Walter Palmer of PCG Solutions on the effectiveness of EAS in an apparel retail environment. Beck has also published a 2009 book entitled New Loss Prevention: Redefining Shrinkage Management. Checkpoint’s full funding has allowed for the hiring of Megan Bornman, a doctoral student and researcher, who will drive the effort. ■ ■
From Mail Order to Big Box…and Back
Did you know that Richard Sears (yes, that Sears) first used a printed mailer to advertise watches and jewelry in 1888? Or, that Walmart’s 2011 total revenue is ten times greater than Amazon, but Amazon has ten times more online sales than Walmart? Do you remember Service Merchandise, the original retail showroom in which shoppers browsed displays of single items, rather than full shelves, then clerks fetched the purchase from the stockroom in the rear of the store. What would your job look like if there were no more stores? A scary scenario? Of course. Farfetched? Not really. Quartz online magazine (www.qz.com) published a thought-provoking piece on “stores without goods.” It’s a must read for all of us. It explores the future landscape of shopping, and the apparent trend away from the conventional trip to the mall. Modern-day mail order consists of shoppers scouring the Internet for merchandise and filling their cyber-shopping cart. Many shoppers practice “showrooming” by visiting a brick-and-mortar store, examining the merchandise, and asking questions, but then buying online from somewhere else, typically for less money or to save paying sales tax. As telecommunications and computer technology continue to converge, the shopping experience will actually devolve first to the modern interpretation of Service Merchandise—a showroom with delivery instead of cash and carry. Called “virtual stores”
January - February 2013
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