
Wal-Mart to open 115 small-format Neighborhood Market
stores in '13 and 500 by '16
Going up against dollar stores, supermarkets and drug
stores the new smaller stores will play a key role in
the company's future. "They compete really well against
multiple channels," Bill Simon, president and CEO of
Wal-Mart U.S. said. “Five hundred is by no means the
end. It’s merely just the beginning of what we think the
opportunity might be for this format.” “We’ll add about
125 new supercenters this year.” (Source
chainstorage.com)
Retailers report modest sales gains for February
Fifteen retailers reported on Thursday that revenue at
stores open at least a year — a key indicator of retail
health — rose an average of 1.7 percent. That number
comes from the International Council of Shopping
Centers. It is a sharp slowdown from the 4.5 percent
pace in January when shoppers splurged on holiday
clearances. (Source
msn.com)
The Ron Johnson - J.C. Penney Disaster Timeline
After probably the worst quarterly results ever and
stock down 46% rumors of impending mass layoffs and a
major lawsuit pitting him against Martha Stewart
analysts think Johnson has only six months left before
the board — or shareholders — force him to leave. Here's
how it got so bad, so fast - the 17 critical events.
Great read for the retail student.
(Source
businessinsider.com)
What's next for Best Buy - After founders leveraged
buyout collapse's
The founder remains Best Buy's largest shareholder with
approx. 20% stake. But Friday the company released a
statement closing the door on the buyout process. Last
month, however, US News & World Report named Best Buy as
the retailer most vulnerable to "showrooming." To combat
the trend, Best Buy recently announced it will match
competitor prices for most items, including those
purchased online from Amazon.com, Buy.com and Apple.com.
Such efforts are not likely to sustain the company,
however. Michael Pachter, a research analyst said. Best
Buy's sizable physical retail footprint demands
approximately 10% higher prices than pure-play
e-commerce companies. "Best Buy can't be competitively
priced. Store operating costs are approximately $5
billion on $50 billion annual revenues - that's a 10%
cost disadvantage compared to companies like Amazon. The
numbers don't add up."
(Source
readwrite.com)
Hot Topic selling itself for $592M to Sycamore
Hot Topic's shareholders still have to approve the deal.
All of Hot Topic's directors voted for it. The company
has about 800 stores in North America. This is the same
investment group that bought Talbots last August.
(Source
msn.com)
"There is no amnesty coming, and E-verify will become
mandatory, so start maintaining those I-9 forms now for
each employee." An attorney
who specializes in labor employment law warned retailers
to be careful about the actions they take prior to
passage of reformed immigration laws, which he said
could come before the end of the year. "Make sure your
pay procedures are in order because the Department of
Labor is looking for employers who are not paying
properly." Assess your current policies on letters you
write for employees who may have to provide proof they
have been U.S. residents for a certain period, probably
seven years."
(Source
supermarketnews.com)
Settlement reached in Shoplifter, Fry's Electronics
Lawsuit moment before jurors were to return with damages
San Diego man who suffered brain
damage when an electronics store security guard
assaulted him after shoplifting agrees on settlement in
his civil case. He stole a $35 laser pointer in
September 2010 and his attorneys claimed the former IT
and computer repair specialist said he was jumped by a
store security guard and thrown head-first onto the
concrete, causing traumatic brain injury. ury foreperson
Camille Davidson said that they had decided to give
Hoopfer $10 million total for medical costs, pain and
suffering -- plus lost earnings. Jurors had also agreed
to go on to a second phase of the trial where they would
decide additional punitive damages. The jury believed
the Fry’s security guard was wrong to take Hoopfer to
the ground without first asking him to give up the item.
In the lawsuit, Hoopfer’s attorneys said life-time care
for her client would cost more than $5 million. The
plaintiff sought an additional $20-25 million for
emotional damage in addition to pain and suffering.
Fry’s also cited expert testimony claiming that he is
not actually brain damaged. The defense had offered to
pay a maximum $100,000 settlement before the case went
to the jury. (Source
nbcsandiego.com)
Lowe's gets into the home automation/home security
product business, teams up with Verizon Wireless stores
in 10 Eastern and Southern states
Lowe’s also plans by the end of the year to dramatically
expand the number of its own stores that sell Iris—from
500 stores currently to all of its approximately 1,700
retail stores nationwide, according to Kevin Meagher,
Lowe’s VP of Smart Home.
(Source
securitysystemsnews.com)
IKEA
looks at smaller store as it continues to expand in
India and China. Everything
from the size of the store to the size of the furniture
and beds they carry needed to be studied to match the
needs of the customers, one size does not fit all.
Understanding the differences in the culture and how a
person uses their space are translated into
merchandising at IKEA. A balcony of an apartment may be
used for relaxing here in the United States, but in
other cultures that area can be used for food storage of
even as a laundry. Understanding the concept of ‘do it
yourself’ is different in China; Home Depot found that
out when the stores failed to capture the interest of
the people. (Source
theglobeandmail.com)
What retailers need to know about patent trolls- just
another form of fraud -for the retail student it's an
important read A
relatively new phenomenon impacting retailers. Firms
whose business model focuses on buying obscure patents
for things they didn’t invent and then threatening to
sue companies who use technology with even vague ties to
the patent. patent trolls are causing significant
headaches for retailers because they often file claims
that are so exorbitant it’s cheaper to settle rather
than litigate. Another form of fraud hits our world.
(Source
nrf.com)
With Positions to Fill, Employers Wait for Perfection
and see no hurry to fill jobs - The Long Wait for
Candidates! American
employers have a variety of job vacancies, piles of cash
and countless well-qualified candidates. But despite a
slowly improving economy, many companies remain
reluctant to actually hire, stringing job applicants
along for weeks or months before they make a decision.
Editors note: Interesting article that can in fact even
be applied to the LP industry as retailers can take
forever to fill jobs in hopes of finding that perfect
executive. The last 4 years of an overabundance of
executives and the current state of the economy gives
them the ability to sit and just wait until they feel
they've exhausted the market. Especially in the first
quarter when they're waiting to see if there's anymore
cuts coming from other retailers. Now this changes the
closer we get to the fourth quarter, as August and
September are usually the speed months for filling jobs
right before the holiday push. (Source
nytimes.com)
Maine kills Bill taking felony threshold from $1,000 to
$5,000
The committee heard loud and clear from our members that
increasing the felony threshold would only serve as a
cost of living increase for criminals.
(Source
retailmaine.org)
A game of cat and mouse - Mobile POS
"Mobile POS is a potential nightmare for thwarting
theft," says Derek Rodner, vice president for Agilence.
This technology raises a lot of questions, such as how
do you audit what is happening at the POS when the POS
is anywhere? How do you validate what shoppers are
placing in their cart has actually been scanned? When a
customer is leaving the store, how do you know they
bought anything when there are no longer printed
receipts?” he says. It will be a major challenge for
loss prevention experts to address and currently there
are no easy solutions, short of watching all of the
video, he adds. (Source
groceryheadquarters.com)
Grocers statewide in Washington echo reusable bag
problems as shoplifting spikes
In the eight months since enacting a ban
on plastic bags in stores, Seattle merchants have lost
untold thousands of dollars in merchandise, industry
experts said from increased shoplifting. "Across the
United States we have seen these bag bans, and the
shoplifting has always had a substantial leap," said Jan
Gee, president of the Washington Food Industry
Association, "and so it was not a surprise to us." In
fact, one in five Seattle businesses say increased
shoplifting due to the bag ban is a problem.
(Source
seattlepi.com)
New "All hands on deck" philosophy at Yahoo - the
beginning of a new counter wave against popular working
from home With Yahoo's
new CEO seeing nearly empty parking lots and entire
floors because some employees were working as little as
possible and leaving early and with 200 or so working at
home and a few who had even begun their own start-ups on
the side the new CEO said that's enough. As last week
she abolished work-from-home policy, saying that to
create a new culture of innovation and collaboration at
the company, employees had to report to work. So the
pendulum begins to swing back. (Source
nytimes.com)
Sport Chalet explosion in Los Angeles still under
investigation, not believed to be suspicious.
The apparent gas explosion last
week at the Sports Chalet store in La Canada Flintridge,
California injured two employees. The employees both
suffered from flash burns. The Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Arson Explosive Detail is investigating the
incident, which officials said didn’t appear to be
suspicious. Officials from the California Division of
Occupational Safety and Health have also launched an
investigation. (Source
lacanadaonline.com)
Ontario Telus Mobility store robbed of $70,000 in
merchandise by two armed with a gun and machete.
On Wednesday at 8:40 p.m. two suspects, one carrying a
handgun and the other a machete-style knife, entered the
Telus Mobility store in Peterborough. (Peterborough is
approximately 200 miles northeast of Toronto) Once
inside the suspects demanded that the two store
employees hand over thousands of dollars in cell phones
and tablets. Once the suspects were given the
merchandise they fled the store. The store estimates the
loss at $70,000, no one was injured.
(Source
thepeterboroughexaminer.com)
South Dakota jewel theft suspect waives extradition from
Florida. A man suspected
of stealing a $30,000 bracelet from an Aberdeen store
has waived extradition to South Dakota following his
arrest in Florida. Twenty-8-year-old Maykel Correoso, of
Miami, is charged with petty theft in Naples, Fla., for
allegedly trying to steal clothing from three stores. He
will be sent to Aberdeen, South Dakota to face the
charge against him there after his Florida case is done.
Correoso is accused of walking into a Riddle's Jewelry
store in an Aberdeen mall last Nov. 1, asking an
employee to show him a bracelet, then snatching it and
fleeing. (Source
ksfy.com)

Gucci store in London smashed open with a Mercedes.
About 50 designer bags, some
said to be worth as much as $60,000 have been stolen in
a smash and grab raid on a flagship designer store in
London. Police said a black Mercedes, which is thought
to have been stolen, reversed into the Gucci store in
Sloane Street at about 10pm on Wednesday. The three
suspects then stole handbags before fleeing in a blue
Audi A4. No arrests have yet been made. Security guards
were in the shop at the time but were said to be unhurt.
(Source
metro.co.uk)

Columbus,
Ohio cell phone burglary caught on tape, suspect
arrested quickly.
Sometimes you just run out of time. The burglar of this
cell phone burglary appeared that he took just a little
to long to decide what to steal, when police responded
to the alarm he was still in the store. The suspect did
try to outrun the officers but was quickly apprehended.
(Source
abc6onyourside.com)
Quarterly Same
Store Sales Results
PetSmart 4Q up 4.6% with revenue up 15%
American Eagle 4Q up 4% with net revenue up 9%, for the
year up 9% and 11% respectively
Kroger 4Q up 3% with revenue up 13%
Trans World Entertainment 4Q down 3% with total
revenue down 15%
Big Lots U.S. stores 4Q down 3.5% with net sales up 4.4%
Staples 4Q down 5% with revenue up 3% and reported a
loss of $210.7M for the full year
February Same
Store Sales Results
Costco up 6%
Limited Brands up 3%
Gap up 3%
TJX up 1%
Ross Stores down 1%
The Buckle down 1.1%
Rite Aid pharmacy down 4.7% front end down 1.3%
Zumiez down 8.9%
Perfumaina down 9.2
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Coming every
Monday! Our new EHS & Safety Column Helping you stay informed.




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here?
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March 5, 2013
Dear Valued Customer,
I am writing to tell you about a promising new development
for our company. Following an extensive review of
Checkpoint’s portfolio in 2012, the company’s Board of
Directors determined that the US and Canada based CheckView®
business will better serve its customers as an independent,
entrepreneurial and more focused organization.
An investment banker has been engaged to assist in the sale
of the CheckView business and discussions are taking place
with a potential buyer interested in leveraging the
expertise, customer relationships, retail monitoring center
and other assets residing in CheckView in a strong and
nimble stand-alone platform.
Checkpoint will continue to pursue its redefined strategy to
provide solutions that improve merchandise availability in
retail stores. I am confident that this planned divestiture
will enable focused attention and investment in both the
CheckView business and Checkpoint’s core businesses, which
in turn will yield the best results for you.
Please be assured that Checkpoint is dedicated to support
CheckView throughout the sale process and that the CheckView
team is 100% committed to ensure an orderly transition with
full continuity of service. As a customer you can simply
expect business as usual, or better, from us.
Your sales representative will be contacting you within 24
hours to answer any questions you have in connection with
the planned sale.
Sincerely,

Per Levin
President & Chief Sales Officer
Shrink Management & Merchandise Visibility Solutions
800-257-5540
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Police
Close 'Store' 20 year Fencing Operation -- Probe Leads To The
Arrests Of Two in Seattle
Yesterday morning, police hauled out an estimated
$200,000 in stolen goods from a fencing operation in a White
Center apartment, following a raid the night before. Police have
been investigating the operation for six months. Police say the
51-year-old suspect had been in business for 20 years and had a
steady stream of burglars and professional shoplifters from
South King County and Seattle exchanging loot for quick cash. In
the past few weeks, police have arrested nine Seattle-area
residents on suspicion of burglary in connection with the
fencing operation. A half-dozen others remain at large, although
police say they have identified them. (Source
nwsource.com)

Five
member ORC ring busted hitting Fred Meyer stores and selling
stolen loot on eBay
Investigators said five men have been charged with stealing more
than $30,000 worth of appliances, DVDs and video games and then
selling the items online through an eBay account. At least 10
Fred Meyer stores in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties had
been hit. An investigation by the Renton Police Department has
been ongoing for nearly a year.
(Source
kirotv.com)

Ulta store in Kentucky hit for $600.
South Central Crime Stoppers are working with
Police to identify two women who shoplifted $600 worth of
products from the store in the Greenwood Mall.
(Source
wbko.com)

ORC - Two men busted selling stolen electronics on Craigslist in
El Paso The El Paso County
sheriff's Strike Team arrested a second man in connection to the
sale of electronics stolen from stores and being sold via
Craigslist online classified ads, officials said. Jesse Barrios,
25, was arrested Wednesday morning after he met with undercover
deputies to allegedly sell the stolen goods, officials said.
Barrios, of the 9800 block of Sayers Drive, faces a charge of
organized retail theft. (Source
elpasotimes.com)
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retail community which might fuel even more jobs and funding.
Share your ORC news and help the industry grow |
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Facial recognition system nets 2,500 identity fraud arrests
New York state officials said Tuesday the DMV's use of
facial recognition software for driver's licenses since 2010
has resulted in more than 2,500 arrests of those trying to
steal someone else's identity or trying to get a second
license. New York's DMV has investigated 13,000 possible
cases of identity fraud using facial recognition, with 2,500
arrests resulting and "more than 5,000 individuals facing
administrative action," according to the governor's office.
(Source
nbcnews.com)
Five Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Tips from Security
Executives
What your colleagues are saying about it and how they take
action. A research paper that examines the findings from a
new study on DLP by Symantec. The goal of the study is to
understand how DLP programs impact the effectiveness of
security executives, while also protecting corporate data.
Symantec surveyed more than 130 CISOs, VPs, directors and
managers responsible for the evaluation, selection,
deployment and governance of their organization’s DLP
solution. Key findings: Improved boardroom credibility;
Increased executive visibility; Increased awareness of data
loss risk. A must read for those interested in expanding
your knowledge base. (Source
idgenterprise.com)
Tips
and Tools for Breach Investigations
Attorney Kim Peretti helped put TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez
behind bars, and now she is helping organizations
investigate and respond to their own data breaches. What
tips and tools does she recommend. Her first piece of
advice: Don't focus too narrowly. Often, investigators
emphasize the origin of a breach, but fail to understand its
true depth and scope - until it's too late. In a video
interview about effective breach investigations, Peretti
discusses: •Areas most frequently overlooked; •Lessons
learned from recent investigations; •Technology tools to aid
investigators. (Source
govinfosecurity.com)
Hacker inmate takes IT classes in prison and the results
were disastrous
Talk about prison teaching inmates how to become better
criminals this one takes the cake. When the authorities
catch up to a big-time cyber criminal, the last thing you’d
expect them to do is give such an individual access to a
computer. That’s just what happened at HMP Isis prison in
South London where internet fraudster Nicholas Webber is
being held. Prison authorities allowed Webber to take part
in an IT course at the prison, and the results were
predictably disastrous. The inmate used his terminal to
access prison computer systems. While officials claim Webber
was not able to inspect any sensitive information, others
suggest the hack caused a “major panic” in the prison. The
instructor was fired at the prison and at his other jobs at
two Colleges. (Source
geek.com)
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Turning
Point for Civil Demand
A Paradigm Shift
Part 1
This is the first of a two part series on a concept being
put forth to solve an issue facing retailers which is either
happening now or it will be coming to your area soon. Lohra
Miller is the CEO of Turning Point Retail. She has crafted
much of this showcase and Civil Demand Associates has
aligned itself with this process. She is a former prosecutor
and district attorney so she brings a vast amount of
experience to our industry. The following is based on her
experience.
As a prosecutor for over 20 years I began and ended my
career with retail theft trials. My first trial, anxious and
new, went off without a hitch. The police officer and LPA
both showed up whereupon the defendant immediately plead
guilty. My last trial, while I was relaxed and confident,
was a disaster. The police officer was stuck on a call and
could not make it to court. The LPA had moved stores and did
not receive a subpoena. An hour later, when I finally
tracked my witnesses down, the case had been dismissed, I
had been chewed out by the judge for wasting the court's
precious time on a "$15 theft," and the defendant walked out
court with a smirk on his face. He had just gotten away with
his seventh retail theft charge.
Like retailers, police and prosecutors believe retail theft
offenders should be held accountable for their actions. This
includes not only accepting responsibility for their
actions, but reforming their behavior and making restitution
to the retailer. Most importantly, we understand that
without accountability, the antisocial attitudes and
behaviors of offenders will escalate in frequency and
severity. As problems facing courts, communities and
criminal justice professionals increase in complexity and
size, the limitations of the existing system are both more
evident and more critical. In fact, in recent years the U.S.
Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that 60% of petty
offenders are convicted.
Unfortunately, the voice most often lost in the chaotic
criminal process belongs to the victim of the retail theft.
The traditional system, which focuses upon punishing
offenders, does little to help retailers recover losses due
to the offender's actions. In response to this problem, most
states passed civil recovery laws to allow retailers the
ability to recover damages through a civil law suit. This
method, while in theory gives retailers recourse to recover
their losses, still faces many of the same challenges as
criminal justice: The cost of enforcing a civil demand
vastly outweighs the amount collected in an individual case.
Without the integrity of enforcement, the culture created
among offenders has resulted in decreasing collections
nationwide. Just Google "I received a civil demand letter,
what should I do?" and you will find page after page of
responses telling the person to ignore the letter.
As any parent will tell you, and study after study has
proven, in order to change behavior, consequences must be
immediate, proportionate to the offense and consistent. Any
solution crafted to address this problem must be based upon
these three simple criteria. Turning Point Retail (TPR)
has developed a
unique and promising collaborative approach to offender
accountability and behavior modification. TPR's technology
quickly identifies appropriate offenders then offers them
the opportunity to voluntarily pay restitution and attend a
behavior modification program. By quickly resolving a large
number of first-time offenders without using scarce criminal
justice resources, the system then has the capacity to hold
repeat and non compliant offenders accountable.
Contact:
Frank Luciano
818-787-7200
Frank@CivilDemand.net
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Job Opening |
Company |
Location |
Origination |
Global Supply Chain Security Mgr |
Target |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target |
Director of LP - East Zone |
Express |
New York, NY |
Express |
Director of LP - East Zone |
Express |
Miami, FL |
Express |
Director of Safety |
Confidential |
Midwest |
Downing & Downing |
Director, DC & Corp Security |
Sports Authority |
Englewood, CO |
Sports Authority |
Manager, Shrink Operations |
Corporate |
Hoffman Estates, IL |
Sears Holdings Corp. |
Sr Ops Business Analyst - AP |
Home Depot |
Atlanta, GA |
Home Depot |
Corp Safety Manager |
Confidential |
Mid-Atlantic |
Downing & Downing |
Director 2, LP Specialty |
Corporate |
Hoffman Estates, IL |
Sears Holdings Corp |
Sr Dir Corp Investigations |
Wal-Mart |
Bentonville, AR |
Wal-Mart |
Director Loss Prevention |
CVS
Caremark |
Lumberton, NJ |
CVS
Caremark |
National Account Mgr |
Confidential |
Northeast |
Downing & Downing |
Dir of Loss Prevention |
Confidential |
Philadelphia, PA |
Downing & Downing |
Dir of Loss Prevention |
Confidential |
Central Midwest |
Downing & Downing |
National Acct Sales
Mgr |
Confidential |
Chicago, IL |
Downing & Downing |
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Be the first "Employer
of the Month"
Ask Us How |
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Today's Daily Job Postings from the Net -
Appearing Today Only
Job Opening |
Company |
Location |
Origination |
Sr Mgr of Global Security |
YUM! Brands |
Louisville, KY |
YUM! Brands |
Assets Protection Specialist |
Target |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target |
Corporate Security Analyst |
Target |
Minneapolis, MN |
Target |
Mgr AP Supply Chain Integrity |
Walgreens |
Mount Vernon, IL |
Walgreens |
Sr Analyst, LP Advanced Analytics |
Walgreens |
Deerfield, IL |
Walgreens |
Mgr of Remote Operations |
Kohl's |
Menomonee Falls, WI |
Kohl's |
Assistant LP & Safety Mgr |
Tuesday Morning |
Dallas, TX |
Tuesday Morning |
Director of Security/LP |
Price Chopper |
Schenectady, NY |
Price Chopper |
Mgr, LP Systems & Awareness Programs |
OfficeMax |
Naperville, IL |
OfficeMax |
District LP Manager |
Sears |
Orlando, FL |
Sears Holdings Corp |
District LP Manager |
Sears |
Chattanooga, TN |
Sears Holdings Corp |
Loss Prevention Mgr |
Sears |
Silver Spring, MD |
Sears Holdings Corp |
Loss Prevention Mgr |
Sears |
Philadelphia, PA |
Sears Holdings Corp |
District LP Manager |
Sears |
Cincinnati, OH |
Sears Holdings Corp |
LP Manager Multi-Unit |
Macy's |
Amherst, NY |
Sears Holdings Corp |
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Individual growth is an
overly used phrase for something that is extremely difficult
to truly accomplish. Corporate America tends to force it
faster than many can absorb. Out of necessity or by design
it requires a mental investment and a conscious effort on
the part of the executive to truly grow beyond their current
capabilities. Consequently, growth is oftentimes as a result
of direct force or life-changing events. But it is a
necessity if one expects to advance and stay current with
the industry. Technology represents the Loss Prevention
industry's biggest opportunity for growth and if one expects
to be a leader tomorrow it would be wise to grow your
technology education.
Just a thought,
Gus Downing

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