Well, here we are. The final installment of my ultimate guide series. If you recall, we’ve discussed some clever ways to prevent shoplifters from stealing your merchandise in a variety of effective ways, that don’t necessarily mean using clothing alarms. We’ve talked about merchandising high end articles up a little higher, having tight fitting room controls and how to handle organized thieves. What I want to end this series with it one of my favorite checkpoint tags that I’ve used throughout my career. It’s often overlooked in the apparel industry, but It’s one heck of an effective solution.
If you’re in the apparel business, you know that bulky clothing alarms just don’t cut the mustard. It turns off your high profile clients and it can really be detrimental to your store’s merchandising goals. Pretty much every checkpoint tag on the market is meant to not only protect the clothing it’s attached to, but to be a pretty visible deterrent to the theft. Chances are a normal shoplifter isn’t going to steal a jacket that has a big red ink tag on the front of it. If you have your own private label line, or have the ability to get this tagged applied at the source, you should absolutely look into the sew-in EAS labels. They are exactly what the name implies. It’s a clothing alarm device that sews into the garment. It’s practically invisible and most companies overlook this gem.
A few years ago one of my stores were having issues with a certain line of dresses. For whatever reason, they were being shoplifted at double the rate of anything else in the store. It seemed like every day, we were making inventory adjustments to just stay in stock. In stock long enough for the next shoplifter. We tried every conceivable checkpoint tag there was from a simple pencil tag, to ink tags and nothing seemed to slow the thieves down. They were able to sneak in tools and simply defeat the devices, so the door alarms would never alert me or my store employees.
After some discussions with the suppler, we testing a batch of these dresses with a sew-in tag. I’ve never deployed a clothing alarm that got me results as quick as these did. Within the first week of their use, an older gentleman exited the store one afternoon. The EAS system alerted and I just happened to be at the front doors. Seeing that nothing was in his hands, I stated that he may have stepped on a tag (boiler plate stuff really… I knew he was a thief, I just couldn’t act solely on the EAS activation). I could see he was nervous and before I could say another word, he began throwing several of those dressed out from his waistband! After he was arrested, he told me that he thought he removed all the sensor tags, and he figured he forgot one. I shook my head and walked away. There was no way I was telling him about those sew-in tags!!!! It’ll be my little secret.
I hope you’ve been able to pick up some helpful information over the last four segments. Whether you’re a manager at a big box, or you own a small boutique in the center of town, we all face shoplifters pretty often. Just remember that these losses don’t have to be just another loss associated with the retail business, but something that you can reduce with the right strategies. So get out there and take your profits back!
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Well, here we are. The final installment of my ultimate guide series. If you recall, we’ve discussed some clever ways to prevent shoplifters from stealing your merchandise in a variety of effective ways, that don’t necessarily mean using clothing alarms. We’ve talked about merchandising high end articles up a little higher, having tight fitting room controls and how to handle organized thieves. What I want to end this series with it one of my favorite Checkpoint Tags that I’ve used throughout my career. It’s often overlooked in the apparel industry, but It’s one heck of an effective solution.
If you’re in the apparel business, you know that bulky clothing alarms just don’t cut the mustard. It turns off your high profile clients and it can really be detrimental to your store’s merchandising goals. Pretty much every Checkpoint Tag on the market is meant to not only protect the clothing it’s attached to, but to be a pretty visible deterrent to the theft. Chances are a normal shoplifter isn’t going to steal a jacket that has a big red ink tag on the front of it. If you have your own private label line, or have the ability to get this tagged applied at the source, you should absolutely look into the Sew-in EAS Labels. They are exactly what the name implies. It’s a clothing alarm device that sews into the garment. It’s practically invisible and most companies overlook this gem.
A few years ago one of my stores were having issues with a certain line of dresses. For whatever reason, they were being shoplifted at double the rate of anything else in the store. It seemed like every day, we were making inventory adjustments to just stay in stock. In stock long enough for the next shoplifter. We tried every conceivable Checkpoint Tag there was from a simple pencil tag, to ink tags and nothing seemed to slow the thieves down. They were able to sneak in tools and simply defeat the devices, so the door alarms would never alert me or my store employees.
After some discussions with the supplier, we tested a batch of these dresses with a Sew-in Tag. I’ve never deployed a clothing alarm that got me results as quick as these did. Within the first week of their use, an older gentleman exited the store one afternoon. The EAS system alerted and I just happened to be at the front doors. Seeing that nothing was in his hands, I stated that he may have stepped on a tag (boiler plate stuff really… I knew he was a thief, I just couldn’t act solely on the EAS activation). I could see he was nervous and before I could say another word, he began throwing several of those dresses out from his waistband! After he was arrested, he told me that he thought he removed all the sensor tags, and he figured he forgot one. I shook my head and walked away. There was no way I was telling him about those Sew-in Tags!!!! It’ll be my little secret.
I hope you’ve been able to pick up some helpful information over the last four segments. Whether you’re a manager at a big box, or you own a small boutique in the center of town, we all face shoplifters pretty often. Just remember that these losses don’t have to be just another loss associated with the retail business, but something that you can reduce with the right strategies. So get out there and take your profits back!
For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
