The "Customer Bill of Rights"
The one-page document, drafted by the Retail Council of New York State, declares: “Profiling is an unacceptable practice and will not be tolerated.” It says each store in question “is committed to ensuring that all shoppers, guests and employees are treated with respect and dignity and are free from unreasonable searches, profiling and discrimination of any kind,” and that the stores will use “internal programs to test compliance with our strict prohibition against profiling practices.” “Employees who violate the company’s prohibition on profiling will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment,” it adds. The “Customers’ Bill of Rights” sign will also include phone numbers for the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the state Division of Human Rights and the manager of each store in which it’s hung. (Source nypost.com)

Tyco Seeks International Trade Commission Exclusion Order Against Ningbo Signatronic Technologies, LLC  Move Will Prevent Infringing Acousto-Magnetic EAS Labels From Entering the U.S. Tyco , a leading provider of retail performance and security solutions, today announced it has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) addressing the importation of infringing products from Chinese manufacturer Ningbo Signatronic Technologies, LLC (Ningbo), and others. The complaint, filed jointly by Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (TFSG) and its Sensormatic Electronics, LLC (Sensormatic) and Tyco Integrated Security, LLC (TIS) businesses, seeks an Exclusion Order to prevent the importation of certain acousto-magnetic (AM) electronic article surveillance (EAS) products. Tyco seeks a permanent Cease and Desist Order against Ningbo and its U.S. distributors, including ALL-TAG Securities, Best Security Industries, and Signatronic Corporation, addressing infringing products already in the United States. Tyco's complaint against Ningbo is related to AM labels designed to prevent theft in retail stores. (Source yahoo.com)

Barnes & Noble Chairman Books a $40 Million Loss on Stock Sale
Mr. Riggio disclosed on Wednesday that he sold two million shares a day earlier, realizing a loss of about $40 million. In an interview he said he would use the losses to offset gains from other investments for tax purposes and doesn't have "any intentions of selling more shares." (Source wsj.com)

Loehmann's facing new bankruptcy
The 92-year-old Brooklyn-born clothing chain, which operates 39 stores nationwide, is weighing a bankruptcy filing in the coming weeks as it struggles to fend off bigger rivals like TJ Maxx and Ross Stores, sources told The Post. The cash-strapped company laid off workers at its Bronx headquarters this week and canceled orders for last-minute holiday merchandise, telling suppliers it had run out of funds, industry insiders said. (Source nypost.com)

Online sales jumped 71% over the past weekend

Online sales from Thanksgiving through Cyber Week up 24%

Home Depot to spend $300 million on tech, new DCs, same-day shipping

American Eagle plans a new $80 million e-commerce distribution center

Retail Sales Climb Most Since June in November
U.S. retail sales rose solidly in November as Americans bought automobiles and a range of other goods, adding to signs of a strengthening economy that could draw the Federal Reserve closer to reducing the pace of monetary stimulus. The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales increased 0.7 percent last month after rising by a revised 0.6 percent in October. November's retail sales increase was the largest in five months. (Source foxbusiness.com)

Simon, Macerich and Westfield malls launch same-day delivery - using crowd-sourced delivery personnel - security risks could be high  Deliv, a same-day delivery company, today announced alliances with three of America's largest mall operators, Simon Property Group, Macerich and Westfield, to provide the convenience of same-day service to shoppers in malls across the U.S. starting this holiday season. This follows a similar same-day delivery partnership announcement from General Growth Properties. (Source retailcustomerexperience.com)

Amazon.com makes more than 2.5 million price changes every day
Profitero, a provider of online competitor pricing data, reports that Amazon.com is implementing more than 2.5 million price changes on a daily basis in its quest to be the most price competitive retailer on the web. Profitero’s analysis also reveals that Amazon.com has increased its number of daily price changes ten-fold over the last 12 months. At the beginning of December 2012, the online retailer implemented an average of 269,113 price changes per day. The extent of Amazon.com’s daily price changes is even more significant when compared with the number of daily price changes implemented by brick-and-mortar retailers Walmart and Best Buy. During November, Best Buy made a total of 52,956 price changes and Walmart a total of 54,633 price changes. (Source retailcustomerexperience.com)

FBI releases 2012 National Incident-Based Reporting System - 1,722,672 Larceny/Theft Offenses listed  Created to improve the quantity and quality of crime data collected by law enforcement, the FBI UCR Program’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) captures more detailed information for each single crime occurrence than the traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS). When used to its full potential at the agency level, the NIBRS identifies with precision when and where crime takes place, what form it takes, and the characteristics of its victims and perpetrators. As more law enforcement agencies (LEAs) submit their crime data via the NIBRS, they—along with legislators, municipal planners and administrators, academicians, researchers, and the general public—will be better able to assess the scope of the nation’s crime problem. See the report at www.fbi.gov

Quarterly Same Store Sales Results

Ulta Beauty Q3 up 6.8% with sales up 22.4%
AutoZone Q1 up 0.9% with sales up 5% and online sales up 74.9%
Men's Wearhouse Q3 up 2.6% with net sales up 2.8%
 

eBay launches 1-hour Dallas delivery service in nick of time for holidays

Everyone's favorite online shopping site eBay has finally launched its one-hour shopping program in Dallas, which claims to deliver merchandise in about an hour. Called eBay Now, the service was originally predicted to arrive in Dallas during the summer; actual launch date was December 10.

Dallas follows a small group of cities with the service, such as Chicago and New York. It premiered in San Francisco, the company's headquarters, in 2012.

The delivery fee is $5. For holiday shoppers, delivery will be free on all orders through December 24. On Christmas Eve, deliveries will be made until 6 pm.

Read more here.

For further information on PROACT, email inquiries to PROACT@eBay.com.
 

By Francis Clark
VP Business Development
Profitect

I once worked for a man who owned a regional supermarket chain which dominated the market we were in. He asked me one day ‘what have you done for the company lately?’ To which I began to tell him what I was doing for my boss. He quickly re-focused me back to his question saying, “I don’t want to know what you are doing for Joe or even me but what are you doing for ‘the company’”? I stumbled to a wobbly answer but the question has never left me.

So, I ask you “what have you done for your company lately?”

We, you and I, are in the Asset Protection/Loss Prevention side of the company but does that restrict what we’re doing for the company? If we just stick to our ‘internal and external fraud’ then our companies are missing a great deal from our expertise.

As I walk the stores trying to evaluate issues to help me present what my company does for our retail clients I notice a significant opportunity in almost every store in the area of product availability and presentation. In supermarkets it’s the effectiveness of reviewing/culling fresh, date coding, percentage of trim in meat, use of misters and icing in appropriate departments, maintenance of shelf tags and signage, staff presence and effectiveness, etc.

In specialty and fashion there are similarities, how is the product presented, signed, what does the associate know about the products, is there ample selection and is the selection effectively arranged and presented; is there damaged product on the sales racks, tables, displays. How attentive is the associate to my needs and the sales process.

I walk out of stores that have cluttered shelves and displays, obvious poor product management and availability, lacking freshness maintenance, and of course, missing and staff who don’t know their job or products.

What does that have to do with our side of the business?

Simple, I sell ‘profit’ to retailers and yet I see people on our side (AP/LP) that will walk past poor and unacceptable conditions in the areas above which caused YOUR COMPANY to LOSE SALES, LOSE CUSTOMERS. Isn’t that LOSS PREVENTION’S CONCERN as much as fraud?

As a customer (perhaps an unusual type of customer) I care that my local retailers are performing as well as they can. I talk to them, point out conditions, reference areas of opportunity and my question to you is ‘where do you draw the line on LOSS’?
 

Job Opening
 

Company

Location

Origination
 

National Account Mgr

Confidential

Northeast

Downing & Downing

Dir of Loss Prevention

Confidential

Philadelphia, PA

Downing & Downing

Job Opening

Company

Location

Origination

The Secret to Changing Your Habits
We all have some bad habits, but there is a key to turning them into better habits. You have to start very, very small; the smaller the habit, the easier it is to change it or establish it. It won't feel like you're doing it automatically for about two months! (Do a little bit, every day)

You will Help Your Employees Cope with Change in 2014  Nothing stays the same forever, and with a new year just weeks away, help your team go with the flow on whatever changes are coming up. Use these tips to help your employees overcome their anxiety about what the new year will bring. (Spend some time listening)