Safe as Houses

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Safe as Houses.

House of Fraser, one of the best known department stores on the high street, has installed the latest generation of anti-theft solutions from leading security and merchandising specialists Checkpoint Systems. The new Evolve EAS antennae are helping the retailer to reduce theft in two of its largest stores, Westfield and Bristol.

The installation is part of House of Frasers ongoing investment in EAS technology across both its estate and in-store concessions to reduce shrinkage. The Evolve technology incorporates 360-degree rotation of Radio Frequency (RF) signals, which results in better detection of RF security tags at all angles, making it possible for the retailer to detect stolen merchandise more effectively. It also offers wider aisles (of up to 2m) with fewer pedestals, thus preserving the look and feel of the retail environment.

In addition, Alpha CableLoks from Alpha High Theft Solutions (a division of Checkpoint Systems) are also being trialled at the Oxford Street store to combat theft of desirable and high value merchandise such as handbags and jackets and suits. The CableLok hard tags offer a highly effective means of security thanks to their innovative 3 Alarm Technology, which provides three individual alarms, without hindering the customer shopping experience or obscuring any part of the product.

Jerry Carter, Head of Retail Support at House of Fraser, explains the thinking behind the partnership: Weve been working with Checkpoint Systems for more than a decade now, and the results and longevity of the collaboration speak for themselves. Department stores can be particularly vulnerable to theft and as such, it was essential that we addressed the problem of shrinkage to protect our bottom line.

And the decision to implement Checkpoints range of security solutions has certainly proved to be a sound one. We have seen improved stock results, reduced losses on high end goods, not just in the stores but also in the concessions, and helped create a more pleasant retail environment for our customers, where luxury merchandise can be kept securely on open display, added Jerry.

In addition to EAS technology, Checkpoint is also supplying House of Frasers Bristol store with its EAS enabled version visitor counting software, CheckPro Manager VisiPlus, to provide an insight into the number of visitors to its stores.

VisiPlus monitors the number of people coming and going through store aisles. Information is captured and stored, allowing managers to analyse the information online to determine appropriate staffing levels and measure the effectiveness of promotional campaigns in attracting customers to the store. The intelligence can also be integrated with EPOS data to create customer conversion rate reports.

Jerry concludes: VisiPlus gives us access to quantitative data, allowing us to identify areas where we can improve operations and reduce costs. Having an insight into business performance is essential in todays fast paced retail environment and the analytical capabilities of this latest solution allow us to do just that.

House of Fraser and Checkpoint Systems have been working together for over 10 years, and Checkpoints EAS technology is now fitted in many of the retailers 62 outlets throughout the UK, with a long-term plan to implement the anti-theft solutions across all stores. As well as the installation of the Evolve systems, 18 other stores currently benefit from Checkpoints earlier 3G solutions and all concessions are provided with Checkpoints EAS labels to ensure merchandise is protected throughout the stores and compatible with the antennae.