Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/282869
Playing Defense www.beveragedynamics.com March/April 2014 • Beverage Dynamics 61 report being caught an average of only once every 48 times. Scott Dunn, deputy director of the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission (NHLC), said that the commission's enforcement di- vision, made up of almost 30 sworn police offi cers, receives reports of shoplifting from New Hampshire's 77 state-run liquor stores on a daily basis. "We have even found that some shoplifters will take orders, from a restaurant or bar in New Hampshire or from another state, for what liquor to steal," he said. As with other crimes, said Dunn, shoplifting can't just be elim- inated once and for all. It is more a matter of constantly "deter- ring, delaying and detecting." "People think that if they put a fence around a piece of property, for instance, they are preventing crime, but what they are really doing is delaying someone if they do try to steal," he explained. The constant deterrence efforts are important, however. "Studies have shown that 60% of all shoplifters return to the stores they've stolen from," said Bregar, adding "And they bring friends." For retailers, though, a balance must be struck. "You can't just lock all your products up," pointed out Rich Mellor, senior advisor for asset production for the National Retail Federation (NRF) (nrf. com). "Customers need to touch and feel the products." Experts say that, when customers can't do this, sales plummet. "You lose the whole art of retailing," said Bregar. "Presenta- tion, of a product with a gorgeous bottle, like Arte Tequila, is lost when everything is locked up behind the counter." Luckily, however, one of the best ways to deter shoplifting is also one of the best ways to provide good customer service. "Making eye contact with people as they walk into the store and greeting them is the classic deterrence mea- sure," said NRF's Mellor. "Now [the potential shoplifter] knows you know they are in the store and you know what they look like." Many retailers and loss-prevention special- ists cite the WalMart greeter as an example of this tactic. And Mellor, who was once in charge of loss prevention for a jewelry business, suggested taking it one step further, by asking customers their names as part of the greeting. "Most people will automatically answer that question truthfully," he said, "and now, that shoplifter is not going to steal because you know his name." Scott Dunn of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission says employees at the NHLC state stores are taught "the 5 to 10 rule," which is if the employee is within fi ve to ten feet of a customer, they should greet them and, if 10 feet or more away, they should make eye contact. At Sherlock's in Georgia, store employees wear uniforms. This not only makes it easier for legitimate customers to fi nd someone to ask for help, but shows potential shoplifters that the store is well-staffed. Shoplifters, Bregar said, come in all shapes and sizes. (His fi rm once caught a shoplifting nun.) "And shoplifters try to blend in with the other customers by how they dress and act," he pointed out. "It could be the rich kid who has money in his pocket, it could be the bored housewife. There really is no profi le. It's not just the scruffy-looking guy." There are, however, different types of shoplifters. Most shop- lifters, Bregar said, are "impulse shoplifters." "A lot of time, they are normal people who give in to temptation. If they are given an opportunity – dim store lighting, high shelving that gives them a feeling of security – they will steal. But studies have shown that most of these shoplifters will not steal if they have been greeted during that visit," Bregar explained. The "amateur shoplifter" is a little more serious about it. "When they walk in, their intent is probably to steal from you," said Bregar. "They steal for themselves and for family and friends and are not as easily dissuaded as the impulse shoplifter." The third type of shoplifter has gotten a lot more press recently: "the professional shop- lifter." "This type is stealing to resell. He views shoplifting as his job," said Bregar. "For this type, getting caught or arrested is an inconve- nience." Because of this, interestingly, this type of shoplifter can be dissuaded. "The profes- sional is working on volume," explained Bregar. "He or she might only be getting 10 cents of the dollar for the merchandise. If they see a cam- era system or an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system, such as from Checkpoint, they may pass on that store because they don't want to be slowed down." Organized retail crime (ORC) is a form of professional shoplifting. Often, said Bregar, while adults run the ORC ring, the people doing the stealing are juveniles. A group may enter a store all at once, overwhelming or distracting the staff, and even strip a store of merchandise. Brian Davis, director of national accounts for 3xLogic, reported that ORC rings have targeted beverage alcohol retailers in some regions. "In Arizona, California and New Mexico, there have been 'beer runs,' when groups just run in and grab all the beer they can," he said, "while, on the East Coast, the cases have involved snatching cigarettes." The 2013 Organized Retail Crime survey done by the National Retail Federation found that 93.5% of all retailers have experi- enced professional or organized retail crime. EYES ON THE PRIZE Being attentive to the people in the store, such as when employees greet customers as they enter, is important to deterring and detect- "I cease to be amazed at what people will steal; they'll steal everything, but they are not reinventing the wheel. What they do is look for gaps in your system." – Craig Maske general manager, Sherlock's 1out of11 people has shoplifted. And these shoplifters report being caught an average of only once every 48 times.