INDUSTRY NEWS

ECR Europe announces Shrink Study

Efficient 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;

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.

■ Exploring 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”

by some, this model is under experiment in Asia. In 2011 The Homeplus discount retail chain in Korea, jointly owned by Tesco and Samsung, created the first virtual store in an underground rail station in Seoul. Shoppers with smartphones download the Homeplus app, then scan the QR codes located below items they wish to purchase. The merchandise is delivered later.

Christopher Mims, author of the Quartz piece, opines that, eventually, we will just look at something with our “Google Glass”—Google’s prototype of a device you wear on your face. It consists of an eyewear-like frame with a full-blown computer with memory, a processor, camera, speaker and microphone, Bluetooth and wi-fi antennas, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and a battery; all inside the earpiece. “Just look at a wall,” he says, “load up the relevant shopping app, and the wall becomes a shelf of virtual goods.”

The good news for us is that there would be fewer shoplifters and ORC rings in our future. We can only hope.

lp Vendor Executives Retire

Two career executives who serviced the loss prevention industry recently retired. Jeff Bean retired as group vice president of national accounts, North America, for ADT. Larry Yeager retired as vice president and general manager of the Alpha division of Checkpoint. LP Magazine’s executive editor, Jim Lee, offers his assessment of the contributions of these two executives to the loss prevention industry in his column on page 66.

Jeff Bean (left) is shown with Christine Rollo of ADT and professional golfer, Heath Slocum, at the Kenny G Gold Pro-Am at the 2011 Honda Classic.

Larry Yeager is shown behind the wheel of a Lotus FA race car in 1971 with his wife of forty-two years, Lisa.

newly Certified lp professionals

Following are individuals who recently earned their LPC and LPQ certifications from the Loss Prevention Foundation.

Recent lpC Recipients

Jeffrey Andujar, LPC, HR Mgr, Rite Aid Katie Ayala, LPC, Sr LP Consultant, Asset Protection Associates Nicholas Bacon, LPC, Reg. LP Mgr, Vans (Division of VF) Jean-Francois Bourgoin, LPC, LP Mgr, Tommy Hilfiger Canada Jonathan Collier, LPC, LP Mgr, Walgreens Ryan Dzwigalski, LPC, Reg. LP Mgr, Vans (Division of VF) Trevor Eynon, LPC, LP Mgr, Office Depot Rebecca Fosterman, LPC, AP Specialist, Banfield Pet Hospital Sev Garcia, LPC, LP Supervisor, Walgreens Brenda Gibson, LPC, LP Mgr, Spartan Stores Chris Hinger, LPC, LP Dir, Polo Ralph Lauren Tom Ingstrum, LPC, LP Mgr, YUM Brands Brian Kirby, LPC, LP Field Mgr, Columbia Sportswear Brandon Long, LPC Kellen McWhite, LPC, LP Mgr, Best Buy James Mullin, LPC, Reg. AP Mgr, Spartan Stores Jason Parsons, LPC, LP Mgr, Rite Aid Susan Pedersen, LPC, NE Reg. Logistics AP Mgr, Best Buy Jaime Quirindongo, LPC, Walgreens James Ross, LPC, LP Agent, Banfield Pet Hospital David Schindler, LPC, AP Mgr, MMI/Banfield Maurizio Scrofani, LPC, LP VP, MPS Solutions Scott Sibley, LPC, LP Dir, Bell Canada Dennis Sullivan, LPC, LP Mgr, Staples Renee Thomas, LPC, Exception Reporting Specialist, Hallmark Cards Jennifer Torres, LPC, Sr AP Mgr, Cabela’s Mark Ulrich, LPC, LP Mgr, Weis Markets Claude Verville, LPC, VP LP and Safety, Lowe’s

Recent lpQ Recipients

Daniel Barnes, LPQ, Streamwood Police Department Derek Bittner, LPQ, American Eagle Outfitters Chris Cerezo, LPQ Anthony Dentler, LPQ, Cabela’s Brenton Douglas, LPQ, Goodwill Industries of Central Arizona Ron Drake, LPQ Ryan Fink, LPQ Jason Fults, LPQ Magaly Gomero, LPQ, American Eagle Outfitters Christopher Kaszak, LPQ, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission Catherine Krug, LPQ, Rite Aid Bryan Mellor, LPQ, Goodwill Industries of Seattle Robert Morgan, LPQ Michael Noble, LPQ Hunter Petray, LPQ, Benton County Sheriff’s Office Wilner Piquant, LPQ, Marta Martin Smith, LPQ Sean Teague, LPQ, U.S. Marines Daniel Viera, LPQ, The Home Depot Brian Walker, LPQ, Westover Security Michael Zurn, LPQ, Stage Stores