Sports equipment retailer JD Sports has completed the installation of new security technology to over 200 stores across its European estate.
The move comes after the retailer saw garment theft reduce significantly during a trial that took place in its UK, France and Netherlands stores.
The anti-theft electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag, ‘The Concept Tag’ from Agon Systems, is expected to improve loss reduction at JD Sports, and its introduction comes just in time for the busy Christmas period.
Tim Edwards, group profit protection director of JD Sports, said: “After working closely with Agon on the development of the Concept Tag, combined with the remarkable loss prevention statistics across the all European JD Sports stores, it was an easy decision to recommend rolling this out to more stores within the JD estate.”
He added: “With Christmas a time that traditionally sees increased levels of retail crime, we are confident that getting the system in place by then will have a strong effect on our retail loss prevention efforts across the holiday period.”
Alongside the European roll-out, JD Sports will also introduce the Concept Tag system in its newly acquired set of stores in Australia.
JD Sports is the first major high street retailer to use the new technology at scale. Early on in the trial with Agon, Edwards said that initial usage of the tag displaced crime to a JD store that did not have the technology in place.
JD's London Oxford Street store, as well as its Newcastle and Glasgow flagships, and key Manchester Trafford Centre and Birmingham Bullring locations, all participated in the trial of the system.
Agon argues the tags have an "impenetrable design", saying that would-be thieves cannot remove the tags without ruining the clothing item to which they are attached. The technology has also been commended by reformed criminals as a secure way of displaying clothing.
The roll-out of the new security system comes four years after JD Sports first partnered with Agon to help shape the solution to the retailer’s specific requirements.