Catch the Thief - Natural Food Industry

Fred Tarasoff once challenged a friend who owned a Health Food Store to an experiment: Over three days, Tarasoff and an accomplice would try to rob his store blind. “We ended up shoplifting a little more than $2000 worth of merchandise, ranging from vitamins to natural body care products to athletic supplements,” he recalls, “and I was by no means an experienced shoplifter.” A Nelson, B.C. – based consultant who trains retailers on theft prevention, Tarasoff first realized the price that shoplifting exacts when a small record/gift shop he ran went belly up in large part because a fifth of the stock was walking out the door. That is not an uncommon scenario, he discovered. External theft accounts for more than a third of retail shrinkage, and most stolen goods are gone for good: For every dollar recovered, $30 is lost. The Natural Food industry appears to be an easier target then many other industries. Many establishments are unaware of how widespread the problem is unless they have strict inventory controls. “My experience has been that with natural food stores the level of security is generally low, they also are very trusting, now combine that with valuable, easily concealed merchandise and you have a potential for high level of retail losses,” says Tarasoff

While a secure floor plan that limits hidden areas and provides an open view of the store is important defence against thieves, a well trained and alert staff is by far the most effective in dealing with loss prevention. “The whole idea is to have potential shoplifters think twice,” says Tarasoff, who interviewed hundreds of shoplifters in developing his training program ( online at www.StopRetailLoss.com ). “You want to make them uncertain if and when they may be under surveillance.”  If shoplifters indentify your store as an easy target, you losses will climb quickly, because many shoplifters have become very sophisticated and can get around most anti-theft devices, he says.

In working with retailers, Tarasoff has found that an establishment does not necessarily need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on sophisticated surveillance equipement in order to reduce losses. “Retailers feel that as long as they have security systems in place, they are protected. Well that is not enough, too often it gives them a false sense of security. To be effective in reducing shrinkage Tarasoff has found that just a few tweaks in store layout along with a fully trained staff in shoplift prevention will often make a big difference in security.

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