Concept Tag helps River Island reduce theft by 60 per cent in biggest UK store
River Island has reported a reduction in retail theft of 60 per cent on security tagged garments at Marble Arch Park House on Oxford Street, their largest UK store.
The fashion retailer achieved the result after their profit protection team made the switch to EAS device the Concept Tag.
The switch also saw a reduction in theft on non-tagged items by 27 per cent at the Marble Arch Park House store, with would-be thieves being deterred from coming into a store entirely once they realised the change had been made.
Helen Tierney, Senior Profit Protection Manager at River Island, said: “When we agreed to trial the Concept Tag I knew it would help reduce our retail losses from theft. However, I didn’t expect it to be as effective as it’s been so far – or so quickly.”
“The fact that shoplifters are moving to other stores as they know they’ll have no luck removing the tag is fantastic,” Helen continued, “and it’s especially welcome when it’s a River Island store in such a high-profile location as Oxford Street!”
The fashion retailer installed the Concept Tag at all three of its Oxford Street stores, as well as a fourth in Rotterdam’s Lijnbaan shopping district, in April 2016 for a 12 month trial. Approximately 60,000 tags were sent to each store.
Agon Systems – creators of the ‘The Concept Tag’ – has since sent the device to a further ten stores, with two more to follow later this year in the Netherlands and Sweden.
Sean Welch, Managing Director of Agon Systems, said: “We’re delighted that River Island has decided to expand their use of the Concept Tag to more locations on the back of a highly successful initial implementation.”
“Once again it shows how fantastic the device is as a retail loss prevention tactic, and to have it done in such a high-profile arena is all the more impressive.”
An initial trial with JD Sports in 2014 saw the Concept Tag installed in 12 regional flagship stores, with the majority showing reduction in tagged item theft of 50-65%.
The device subsequently won the ‘Best Newcomer’ prize at the 2016 Retail Fraud Awards.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Agon Systems is a manufacturer of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) equipment based near Biel, in Switzerland. Over the last 20 years Agon Systems has produced more than 200,000 high quality EAS antenna, which have been installed in some of the highest profile retail locations around the globe.
The Concept Tag is a revolutionary EAS tagging device created by Agon Systems that has been proven to reduce illicit tag removal and deter criminals.
Years of development produced a unique locking mechanism within the Concept Tag that is practically impossible to remove the tag by force.
Tests have shown it would need over 50 kilograms of pressure applied to force the tag off of a garment – meaning it would likely cause damage to the garment or shoplifter if attempted.
For more information about the Concept Tag visit www.concepttag.com.
For any further information please contact: Tom Ruzyllo at Tomango on 01273 814019 or tom@tomango.co.uk.