One of the toughest cases we had when I worked at a large clothing retailer involved a ring of shoe thieves who not only stole but also conducted fraudulent refunds of the stolen product. The strategy to stop shoplifting depends on the type of retailer and the type of product sold at that store. In this case the retailer was caught flat footed since they did not employ any type of anti shoplifting devices in the shoe department. Basically the only tools we had to work with was a two way mirror over the shoe aisle and walking the floor to observe any potential theft. When the thefts occurred and went unnoticed the thieves struck more often with aggressive boldness. A meeting with the store management team to promote floor awareness brought about several questions as to employing newer technology to stop shoplifting. One suggestion was to use an EAS company called Checkpoint. They used RF technology via rf security labels and rf security tags. The main issue was to figure out whether to use the Checkpoint security tags or the checkpoint labels or both.
An rf label is a sturdy sticker with rf technology that can be attached to flat surfaces and hidden so as to not alert a would be thief. The checkpoint labels could be used on women’s dress shoes since there is really no where to attach checkpoint security tags. A rf label could be placed on the bottom of the shoe or inside the shoe. Using the RF labels in this fashion was the first step in our strategy to stop this ring of thieves. A decision was made to place the checkpoint labels on the bottom of every “right” footed women’s dress shoe. One additional step was taken for the very expensive women’s shoes and that was to place a lanyard though the loop or strap at the end of the shoe and attach checkpoint security tags. This was in addition to the rf labels attached to the bottom of the shoes. This process was tough to start but once in place was not to hard to audit and maintain.
The next area of concern was men’s dress shoes, which again, because of the several different types of shoes required a though process as to whether we had to use the rf security labels or the rf security tags or a combination of both the checkpoint labels and checkpoint security tags. The initial thought was to use the rf security tags on the right foot of every shoe by placing them through the top “eyelet” of shoes that had to be tied. In recent fashion trends more men’s shoes simply slip on requiring no fastening of any kind. This warranted us to place a rf label on the bottom of each right footed shoe, just like the women’s slip on shoes. Unlike may of the expensive women’s shoes these types of men’s slip on shoes did not have a place to put a lanyard or tag so it was decided to place rf security labels inside the men’s right shoe. Keeping all the rf labels and rf security tags on the right shoes made it less complicated for the store staff to attach, audit and remove.
The remaining area of concern was men and women’s sneakers which were much easier to secure by using the checkpoint security tags and when needed lanyards. All were secure through the “eyelet” of the right shoe. RF security labels were also hidden within the right shoe of the most expensive sneakers.
Tagging and floor awareness cut back the ring of thieves almost immediately. The process of the initial tagging and training was an investment of time and money that in the end helped the company cut 70% of the inventory loss in the shoe category. The fraudulent refunds were also shut down since the thieves no longer were able to steal the shoes and then return them fraudulently. Having a tagging strategy and ensuring the entire store staff knew how to tag, how to audit and how to remove the tags put us well on our way to achieve the true goal to stop shoplifting.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, and other RF labels that can help you stop shoplifting in your business.
For more information on Checkpoint labels, Checkpoint security tags, RF labels, RF security labels, RF security tags and how to stop shoplifting contact us at RF label or call
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