JD-Blog-010 Keyword: Protect Fragrance – 4 (Secondary: Alpha Keeper-3)
How Can We Protect Fragrance?
As soon as we put fragrance into our stores, the question came up – How can we protect fragrance? There are a lot of issues unique to fragrance that need to be considered before a protection strategy can be created. First, the containers are made to be small for the convenience of the customer, which also tends to make them very concealable for the shoplifter. It’s a small item with a significant price tag. Next, most are packaged as a bottle inside of a box. This leads to issues when a soft tag is applied to the box, the shoplifter just takes the bottle of the box. We found that the soft tags didn’t stick well to the bottles. The customer wants to be able to read and see the whole box to make their decision and that also limited the efficiency of soft tags. Showcases wouldn’t work because in today’s market of tight control on labor costs, there just wouldn’t be associates available to unlock the cases.
What we chose to protect fragrance in our stores was the Alpha Keeper. The product combines electronic article surveillance and benefit denial to the shoplifter, while maintaining the ability for the customer to view the entire package and select the item from the shelf without having to get assistance and wait. The keepers are clear plastic all the way around, allowing the product packaging to be seen easily. The EAS device is in the base of the unit and doesn’t hinder packaging or display at all. There are also hanging versions available, so they’re versatile not matter what your display set up is. The detachers are mounted at our registers, allowing for our front end staff to remove the keeper with almost no added time or inconvenience at check out. Training for associates in both putting the item into keepers and for front end deactivation was very minimal.
The Alpha Keeper is a resilient package and we have had none break and have not found a single defeated keeper. Other solutions we experimented with were often defeated by determined shoplifters. We found that by using the Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance, our losses from damages dropped significantly. Because we had our receiving staff put the product into the keepers as soon as it came off the truck if a package fell or was dropped the keeper absorbed the impact, preventing the product inside from breaking. Our justification for the expense was simple when we showed reduced shrink and reduced damages by the use of the same tool. In today’s tough expense control climate, that’s important.
It was a long road to finding a solution. In the end, we found that the keepers were able to protect fragrance from both theft and damage for what was a one-time investment, since the keepers are a damage-resistant solution. We will be using them in all of our locations for the foreseeable future.
For more information about how to protect fragrance contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
As soon as we put fragrance into our stores, the question came up – How can we protect fragrance? There are a lot of issues unique to fragrance that need to be considered before a protection strategy can be created. First, the containers are made to be small for the convenience of the customer, which also tends to make them very concealable for the shoplifter. It’s a small item with a significant price tag. Next, most are packaged as a bottle inside of a box. This leads to issues when a soft tag is applied to the box, the shoplifter just takes the bottle of the box. e found that the soft tags didn’t stick well to the bottles. The customer wants to be able to read and see the whole box to make their decision and that also limited the efficiency of soft tags. Showcases wouldn’t work because in today’s market of tight control on labor costs, there just wouldn’t be associates available to unlock the cases.
What we chose to protect fragrance in our stores was the Alpha Keeper. The product combines electronic article surveillance and benefit denial to the shoplifter, while maintaining the ability for the customer to view the entire package and select the item from the shelf without having to get assistance and wait. The keepers are clear plastic all the way around, allowing the product packaging to be seen easily. The EAS device is in the base of the unit and doesn’t hinder packaging or display at all. There are also hanging versions available, so they’re versatile not matter what your display set up is. The detachers are mounted at our registers, allowing for our front end staff to remove the keeper with almost no added time or inconvenience at check out. Training for associates in both putting the item into keepers and for front end deactivation was very minimal.
The Alpha Keeper is a resilient package and we have had none break and have not found a single defeated keeper. Other solutions we experimented with were often defeated by determined shoplifters. We found that by using the Alpha Keepers to protect fragrance, our losses from damages dropped significantly. Because we had our receiving staff put the product into the keepers as soon as it came off the truck if a package fell or was dropped the keeper absorbed the impact, preventing the product inside from breaking. Our justification for the expense was simple when we showed reduced shrink and reduced damages by the use of the same tool. In today’s tough expense control climate, that’s important.
It was a long road to finding a solution. In the end, we found that the keepers were able to protect fragrance from both theft and damage for what was a one-time investment, since the keepers are a damage-resistant solution. We will be using them in all of our locations for the foreseeable future.
For more information about how to protect fragrance contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
