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Sensormatic® bottle tag puts a cork in liquor store losses

Announcement posted by Write Away Communication 26 May 2010

Bruce Johns from The Wembley Hotel, one of Perth’s largest hotels, had had enough. Despite all his best efforts using traditional security methods, losses from shoplifting were unacceptably high.

Bottle shops typically have a significant number of high value, low volume items – spirits and exclusive wines – even though the majority of sales come from lower priced high volume beer and wine. As such, they are often popular targets for thieves, with liquor stores topping a list of those most frequently impacted by burglars, shoplifters, vandals, cheque and credit card fraudsters, and assailants*.

Mr Johns had seen ADT Security’s Sensormatic EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) systems in a number of other retail outlets and wondered if there would be a suitable system to protect his high-value floor stock while he and his staff focused on serving customers.

“We wanted an anti-theft system that would help reduce our losses to shoplifting, but it was just as important to us that the system would not waste staff time or embarrass honest customers by emitting a high number of false alarms,” said Johns.

Mr Johns found Sensormatic’s latest bottle tag to be ideal for his situation. Part of the Sensormatic Ultra Tag portfolio, the bottle tag’s clever design fits bottles of all sizes and provides an important visual deterrent to would-be thieves. As a further benefit, the tag’s small size means shelving displays do not need to be reorganised and it has minimal impact on product presentation. At the point of sale, the tag is quick and easy to detach, making it ideal for high turnover operations.

The tags work with the full range of Sensormatic pedestals to provide a very low level of false alarms. The pedestals provide another obvious visual theft deterrent at shop entry while being wide enough to allow easy movement of customers and access for pallet deliveries.

ADT Security retail specialists helped Johns identify the most vulnerable areas in his business, taking into account typical customer flow. Comprehensive staff training on how to attach/detach tags and how to set-up and test the system formed part of the Sensormatic installation service.

Staff of The
Wembley Hotel quickly mastered the system and using the new bottle tags soon became a normal part of their day-to-day work. Importantly, training also included what to do if the alarm sounds. Staff were given useful procedures and advice on how to approach customers, so that merchandise is protected while not damaging customer relationships.

As an added bonus, the tags also helped The Wembley Hotel to better manage inventory through enabling greater visibility of stock movement between the bottle shop and the hotel’s many bars.

“The Sensormatic system has virtually eliminated my losses while giving me better controls on transfers between the bottle shop and the hotel’s bars,” said Johns.

ADT Security is the exclusive supplier of Sensormatic EAS solutions. For further information visit www.adtsecurity.com.au or phone 131 ADT (131 238).

* Small business crime survey, Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) and The Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA), 1999

ABOUT ADT SECURITY
With more than a century’s worth of experience and providing electronic security solutions to more than seven million residential, commercial and retail customers worldwide, ADT Security is the world’s largest electronic security company. ADT Security’s products include alarm systems and integrated security applications that link access control, CCTV, electronic article surveillance and source tagging systems.
Security Lic: VIC No. 65201491P | WA No. SA25942 | SA No. ISL152299 | NSW No. 405187443 | ACT No. 17501009 | QLD No. 3258669