Chances are, when you hear the words “bottle lock”, you immediately think of liquor stores. They are probably the largest user of those devices, and for good reason. Liquor is shoplifted at an alarming rate, and whatever you can do to prevent those losses is probably a good idea. Have you ever stopped to think if there were other, commonly shoplifted items that you sell that are completely unsecured? Maybe they are unsecured because you have never really thought about the amount of loss in an item? Maybe, it’s due to the items relatively cheap price that the shrink is overlooked?
Ask anyone who works for a dollar store, or corner pharmacy and they’ll tell you that some of the most prolific shoplifters target basic household items. Items such as dish and hand soap, shampoo, and over the counter pain relievers. These items are small, concealable and very inexpensive. They’re a far cry from the large electronics, but the rate of shoplifting on these items have caused many retailers to take protective measure on items they never thought twice about protecting in the past. These items are very quickly sold on the street, flea markets and dishonest family stores. So how exactly do bottle locks fit into this puzzle?
Not too long ago, I was having lunch with an industry contact of mine. We are both district loss prevention managers, but for two very different companies. I come from a mass retailer, and he, a chain pharmacy. We were swapping stories about theft cases and he began to tell me about a massive organized retail crime bust he was recently involved with. For months, his stores were targeted by a group of individuals who were targeting a particular brand of pain reliever. These were over the counter items and the stores would have upwards of 50-100 easily accessible at any given time. Within the course of a two month period, this group had stolen nearly one hundred thousand individual bottles of this pain reliever. Someone had a serious headache.
There wasn’t much his company could do. It would be unreasonable to lock up such a common and inexpensive item. It was also difficult to limit the stock on the shelf since this was a very commonly sold item. The company did not want to take the chance of missing sales. It was a difficult situation, however a solution was found with bottle locks. I was surprised to hear this. I had never thought about using that type of lock for anything other than liquor. There was a particular Alpha Security device that was designed for pain reliever type bottles. They were implemented in his stores and it dried up the theft very quickly. It stopped the theft long enough for him to be able to track where the product was going.
After a few weeks of having the bottle locks in place, he was able to make several detentions of individuals who were attempting the defeat the devices. Through his interviews with the street level boosters, he was able to begin his investigation into the fence. With the assistance of state law enforcement officials, a large warehouse was eventually discovered that contained tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of pain relievers, all from his stores. This operation was shipping the product overseas and making millions in this illicit operation. Not only were they targeting the pain relievers, but also razors, shampoos, detergent and other household items.
For more information, contact us: Bottle Lock, or call 1.770.426.0547
Chances are, when you hear the words “bottle lock”, you immediately think of liquor stores. They are probably the largest user of those devices, and for good reason. Liquor is shoplifted at an alarming rate, and whatever you can do to prevent those losses is probably a good idea. Have you ever stopped to think if there were other, commonly shoplifted items that you sell that are completely unsecured? Maybe they are unsecured because you have never really thought about the amount of loss in an item? Maybe, it’s due to the items relatively cheap price that the shrink is overlooked?
Ask anyone who works for a dollar store, or corner pharmacy and they’ll tell you that some of the most prolific shoplifters target basic household items. Items such as dish and hand soap, shampoo, and over the counter pain relievers. These items are small, concealable and very inexpensive. They’re a far cry from the large electronics, but the rate of shoplifting on these items have caused many retailers to take protective measures on items they never thought twice about protecting in the past. These items are very quickly sold on the street, flea markets and dishonest family stores. So how exactly do bottle locks fit into this puzzle?
Not too long ago, I was having lunch with an industry contact of mine. We are both district loss prevention managers, but for two very different companies. I come from a mass retailer, and he, a chain pharmacy. We were swapping stories about theft cases and he began to tell me about a massive organized retail crime bust he was recently involved with. For months, his stores were targeted by a group of individuals who were targeting a particular brand of pain reliever. These were over the counter items and the stores would have upwards of 50-100 easily accessible at any given time. Within the course of a two month period, this group had stolen nearly one hundred thousand individual bottles of this pain reliever. Someone had a serious headache.
There wasn’t much his company could do. It would be unreasonable to lock up such a common and inexpensive item. It was also difficult to limit the stock on the shelf since this was a very commonly sold item. The company did not want to take the chance of missing sales. It was a difficult situation, however a solution was found with Alpha Rx Cap. I was surprised to hear this. I had never thought about using that type of lock. There was a particular Alpha Security cap that was designed for pain reliever type bottles. They were implemented in his stores and it dried up the theft very quickly. It stopped the theft long enough for him to be able to track where the product was going.
After a few weeks of having the Alpha Rx Caps in place, he was able to make several detentions of individuals who were attempting the defeat the devices. Through his interviews with the street level boosters, he was able to begin his investigation into the fence. With the assistance of state law enforcement officials, a large warehouse was eventually discovered that contained tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of pain relievers, all from his stores. This operation was shipping the product overseas and making millions in this illicit operation. Not only were they targeting the pain relievers, but also razors, shampoos, detergent and other household items.
For more information, contact us: Anti Shoplifting, or call 1.770.426.0547
