As I was preparing to write an article on Alpha Security products, my wife came to me with a newspaper article and asked if I had seen the story about a name brand cooler that has become the target of thieves. I had not, so I was interested in what the report had to say. I was surprised that anyone would be interested in stealing coolers until I saw that the newspaper reported the price range of these items from $250.00 to $1,300.00! Well, this was a local newspaper so I had to put on my investigator hat and start digging a little more. Was this a local issue, or is it impacting other regions of the country? I was finding reports of this item being stolen in Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Texas. That was enough to convince me this is a major problem for retailers. I had one more thing I wanted to verify. I went to the company’s web site and wanted to confirm the prices of the coolers, yes indeed, I found the prices ranging from $299.99 – $1,299.99! What advice would I give to any retailer that is selling this product (or high ticket product for that matter) to prevent shoplifting? I would recommend using an Alpha Cable Lock to protect the merchandise against theft.
Many Alpha Security retail anti-theft devices come in 2-alarm and 3-alarm styles and this includes the Alpha Cable Lock. The 2-alarm version provides electronic alarm system (EAS) protection by causing EAS antennas to activate when a tagged piece of merchandise is carried into the area of the door where the antennas are located. They are also tamper proof, sounding a built in alarm if someone tries to cut the cable or defeat the device. The 3-alarm version of the Alpha Cable Lock has an added feature that activates an internal alarm in the lock if someone gets out the door with merchandise protected by this retail anti-theft device. Concerned that someone could try to cut the cable to the lock? You can be confident that this would not be an easy task. The locks are made of 7×7 aircraft grade coaxial cable. How strong is this? According to the Fastenal website https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/45501 the breaking strength of 7×7 galvanized aircraft cable is around 480 lbs.
In addition to the strength of the Alpha Cable Lock and the 3-alarm feature, I also like this retail anti-theft device for this product because it can prevent box stuffing of this cooler. My concern as a Loss Prevention Manager was not so much the theft of a cooler, ours were never in this price range, I was concerned with merchandise being stuffed inside and the customer getting it past the cashier. The coolers, as I am looking at the images and information, have holes for a small padlock to secure the lid to the frame. This hole could fit a cable through it, leaving some slack in the cable so that a customer can look inside, but not enough room to hide merchandise. If used strategically, a store could prevent shoplifting and box stuffing with the Alpha Security device.
Lest I leave you thinking that the cable locks are one trick ponies these retail anti-theft devices also prevent shoplifting of other merchandise. They can be used to secure coats, bicycles, baseball gloves, even high priced detergent bottles with handles. Anything that has a place the cable can be looped through is a candidate for being secured with a cable lock.
I don’t know whether your store carries high priced coolers that may be targeted by crooks, but I feel certain that you need to prevent shoplifting of some type of merchandise.
Alpha Cable Locks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
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