Anna's Linens' Loss Prevention team achieves
lowest inventory shrinkage in the company's history

By Gus Downing
Publisher & Editor

Operating 300 stores in 20 states, the Loss Prevention team, led by Marlene Kusumoto, has been successful in reaching a company milestone in producing the best shrink results in the company's history with "extreme consistency" as commented on by their CFO, Neil Watanabe. Last week, Anna’s Linens' Senior Loss Prevention Management Team completed its strategic planning meeting over a three day period and developed their new strategic focus initiatives for the company, which is "Safety in the Workplace." In addition, they completed enhancements and modifications to the internal store audit program for 2013, which they in fact administer companywide. They also reviewed and made the necessary adjustments to their Target Store Shortage Program and had the opportunity to continue to provide additional training to their Regional Loss Prevention Managers on the use and application of Aspect, their POS exception based reporting system that has been successfully leveraged as a powerful tool utilized by the Loss Prevention organization. 

At this meeting, the entire group was complimented and acknowledged for each of their roles and contributions which has allowed Anna’s Linens, as of June 2012, to achieve the lowest inventory shrinkage in the company’s history. Neil Watanabe, a former LP executive himself, went on to say that; "This achievement is directly attributable to the leadership and guidance under their Director of Loss Prevention Marlene Kusumoto."

We at the Daily would like to compliment the entire Anna's Linens LP team and specifically acknowledge and commend Marlene Kusumoto's leadership. The mere fact that they reached such an historical accomplishment is a reflection of their efforts and their ability to integrate the LP programs seamlessly throughout the entire organization and obviously with the operations team in complete support or else the accomplishment would not have been possible. Secondly, their ability to redefine and focus their strategic initiative to "Safety in the Workplace" clearly means that they've been able to take their focus to the next level because they've obviously established the core LP programs and LP culture necessary to maintain their current shrinkage results.

Taking on this new initiative will not be an easy task. While most underestimate the safety function and impact in the retail environment, the fact is that the workmen's compensation expense has been rising significantly throughout the U.S. in most retailers and if left unmanaged can represent a significant loss for any retailer. Also, given the obvious increase in critical, dangerous, and in some cases violent incidents in stores across America, it's great to see an LP team being able to focus on the safety aspect for its employees and customers and to develop a safety awareness culture throughout the entire organization. The real issue will be the programs they establish, the execution and delivery of those programs, the training the LP team receives themselves, and the metrics used to measure the success.

Congratulations to the LP team, and Marlene Kusumoto herself, for developing -building - leading - and reaching the results they've produced. It's no small effort and we'd also like to wish them the best on their quest to maintain that performance, while helping to provide a safe environment for their employees and customers. Good Luck and Job Well Done!

Pictured from left to right:

Marlene Kusumoto Director of Loss Prevention, Heather Shanowsky Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Christopher Perry Corporate Loss Prevention Administration Manager, Sean Johnson Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Rudy Bravo Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Daniel Rainey Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Neil Watanabe Chief Financial Officer