When considering starting your own business, you need to make decisions about a number of things, i.e. type of ownership, financing, location of your business, retail space, pricing, merchandising, advertising, marketing, staffing, etc. The list is long and at times seems endless. You keep referring back to your business plan, update and modify the plan to keep it fluid and up-to-date.
The time to open your retail business has finally arrived, the store is fully stocked, your staff has been hired and is in place ready to assist your customers. You have a good accountant and a good banker on hand. You are full of hope and enthusiasm. After your store has been open, you begin to review your sales and your net profit on a periodic basis.
Your marketing strategy is working well and your sales are above average, however, you cannot figure out why your net profit is not keeping pace? If your average merchandise item is selling for $15 and your net profit margin is 15 percent, you should clear $2.25 on each item you are selling. You just placed another order of merchandise amounting to $15,000. Your total sales thus far should be about $100,000 with a net profit of $15,000, however, your numbers don’t add up. When you compare the inventory you originally purchased, subtract the total items sold, the remaining balance does not match your inventory count. This difference is called inventory shrinkage.
You realize that you need to keep an eye on the inventory shrinkage totals. You are trying to figure out how your inventory loss of 100 pieces of inventory can be explained and/or eliminated. Some items were damaged and needed to be written off. But even after having made this accounting adjustment your inventory shrinkage is still high. Why is that? Then you realize that the inventory shrinkage can only be attributable to shoplifting or employee theft. Having lost 85 pieces of merchandise to thieves has affected your bottom line. If you had sold these 85 pieces, you could have earned an extra $191. Now you are faced with having to make up this inventory shrinkage by having to sell an additional 38 pieces of inventory just to break even.
Then you realize that your business plan did not include an anti shoplifting strategy. Where do you turn to learn about retail theft prevention? Granted you only lost $191 in net profit, you still had to pay for the merchandise and thus your cost of goods keeps increasing. An anti shoplifting strategy can incorporate contacting a loss prevention consultant and contracting for consulting services to help you understand your choices in putting an anti shoplifting strategy in place. One should start very early to the cycle of a new or existing business to implement the proper anti shoplifting policies and procedures.
For more information, contact us at anti shoplifting or call 1 770 426-0547.
Have you reviewed your recent inventory numbers and wondered why your inventory losses have increased? If that is the case you may benefit from the expertise of trained professionals who can take a look at your business and create an effective loss prevention program. Loss Prevention Consultants are trained specialists in the area of inventory shrinkage control.
When a shoplifter first enters your store, he/she does not want to draw any kind of attention. Loss Prevention Consultants can assist in raising the level of awareness to provide the best possible customer service by greeting customers as soon as they enter the store. This raised level of attention displayed by your employees may very well deter a shoplifter.
Loss Prevention Consultants can help you create business plans and policies to decrease your shrinkage numbers. For example, if your business has a fitting room, consultants may suggest that employees physically handle all clothing that goes into the room, and that the fitting room never be left unattended. Shoplifters choose to conceal merchandise in fitting rooms, so by monitoring what goes into the room this type of theft can be prevented.
Is the layout of your sales floor conducive for shoplifters to pursue their trade? Loss Prevention Consultants can review the layout of your sales floor and make suggestions for improvement.
Loss Prevention Consultants will locate blind corners in your store and offer suggestions to rework the display to possibly open up the aisles to improve visibility of your customers and their actions. Loss Prevention Consultants will look at your sales floor with the same eye as a shoplifter and can easily make suggestions for reducing those blind spots.
High theft items should be located in a high traffic area in the store, away from the entrances. These items should also have good employee coverage so that they can be monitored. By having the merchandise away from the entrance, this can help prevent a shoplifter from grabbing the merchandise and making a quick escape out the doors.
Learn how to curb the opportunities for shoplifters to pursue their trade by hiring Loss Prevention Consultants.
For more information contact your loss prevention consultants or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia
Have you ever wondered how you can turn the tables on a shoplifter and turn the chore to “Prevent Shoplifting” into an activity which is actually fun? How could that possibly be accomplished you wonder?
Shoplifters require private time in your store to pursue their task of shoplifting. By providing excellent customer service you will be easily able to deter a shoplifter from his/her activities. Believe me, when I say that customer service is a prime tool to reduce or eliminate shoplifting.
To explain how to do this I will give you a real example. Previously I conducted a shoplifting prevention training session at a hardware store. I taught them the skills to deal with shoplifters. Two weeks later I received an excited call from the store manager, “it works!” He was surprised but I was not!
A person had gone to the electrical department and picked up a circuit breaker worth about $70. He stuffed it in the front of his pants. An employee saw him do this from behind. The employee proceeded to get on the PA and make an announcement in “code” that only other employees would understand. This code let store staff know that he had a shoplifter and needed help.
A total of 4 employees then followed the shoplifter through the store. They acted like they were counting items or doing other work trying to be inconspicuous. They stayed back about 20 feet but kept following him. Every time the shoplifter would stop and look at something an employee would approach him and ask if the person needed help.
The shoplifter got the message he pulled the circuit breaker out of his pants (disinfectant anyone?), put it on a shelf and walked out of the store.
The employees tracked down the shoplifter and pursued him with customer service as their weapon and the shoplifter left in frustration. No criminal charges, no reports just great customer service that worked to prevent shoplifting loss! You and your staff can do this as well.
Please contact us by calling 1.770.426.0547 for assistance to prevent shoplifting in the Atlanta area
