Fashion Retailer

Fashion Retailer 

Retailer manages and monitors intrusion across 750 stores in North America with Alarm.com for Business

About the Company

This multi-brand retailer of affordable fashion has 750 stores in Canada and the United States. Its products are sold through ten separate clothing lines aimed at different segments of the youth, teen, and young adult fashion markets. Thousands of employees work in its stores, which are usually located within malls and shopping centers.

Working from the corporate headquarters in Toronto, the Loss Prevention team currently uses Alarm.com’s intrusion technology to monitor retail stores.

The Challenge

The retailer’s legacy system was decentralized and unwieldy, with administration performed by each retail store. Store managers were sometimes forgetting to arm systems at night, and it was difficult for the Loss Prevention team to control the issue—or to see and address other system problems such as malfunctioning sensors and incorrect arming schedules. The result was a security system that wasn't actually secure and exposed the team to retail theft while creating a lack of confidence in the overall system.

Why Alarm.com for Business:

One platform for monitoring multiple locations 
Alarm.com for Business’s intuitive interface, accessible by mobile app or the customer website, shifts control from retail employees to the Loss Prevention team. Using Alarm.com’s Enterprise Dashboard, the team can get an overview of all stores at a glance or check in on a specific location. Stores can also be grouped hierarchically or by region, giving the team flexibility to monitor according to the company’s needs and structure.

"Our legacy systems had no visibility. Everything was managed at the store level, whereas everything is now centralized at our corporate office and we have full control and visibility of these systems."
– Loss Prevention Manager

Better monitoring increases staff compliance
When employees make operational mistakes, such as forgetting to arm the system, notifications surface problems instantly, and the Loss Prevention team can keep track of who is responsible. Visibility creates more accountability at the store level, and accountability reduces the exposure to potential to theft as managers are held responsible for following standardized security protocols.

"Prior to installing Alarm.com, I’m sure there were stores that weren’t armed on a regular basis. Being able to see that on Alarm.com, we have addressed the staff repeatedly about these incidents. Now, we have been able to reduce them to very minimal levels."

Expanding on the Alarm.com for Business Platform
The Loss Prevention team originally chose Alarm.com for its intrusion system. With Alarm.com, it is easy to add new locations and products, and the Loss Prevention team is adopting video at its retail locations. The Loss Prevention Manager finds Alarm.com's video notification system especially helpful because the team can easily find and play video clips when an intrusion event is reported. Proactive video deterrence features, which can alert emergency responders before a potential intrusion event occurs, are also being adopted at the corporate office.

"The video system is smart. I like how it integrates well with intrusion. For example, we get notifications when there is an intrusion before the system is disarmed. And then we can view a video recording and thumbnail which plays instantly. It’s very efficient."