Stolen to order
It's enough to make the designer fashion set weak at the knees - real Gucci and Louis Vuitton at bargain basement prices. But be careful, these must-have bags and designer duds are too hot to handle.
In Sydney a gang of thieves recently used a stolen car to ram-raid a Gucci boutique. Sledgehammers were the weapon of choice in a smash-and-grab raid at Louis Vuitton. Clothing and accessories worth tens of thousands of dollars - highly prized on the black market - were stolen. Meanwhile Melbourne organised ram-raid gangs are selling heavily discounted stolen luxury goods at "tupperware-type" parties as they carry less risk than selling on eBay or at markets.
Also stealing-to-order, a ram-raid gang hit a string of top-end Sydney boutiques, netting designer clothing worth almost $450,000. Eight stores in the affluent suburbs of Mosman, Paddington, Woollahra and Balmain were robbed over a 13-week period last year.
One of the stores hit, Sturrock's Boatique in Mosman, was robbed four times in a month during the gangs rampage. Manager Evan Sturrock never thought the store would be ram-raided, but now realises it was an easy target stocking brands the thieves are after.
"They have orders for gear no doubt as they knew exactly what they wanted. The robberies cost us $100,000 in lost stock, insurance and repairs. They took yachting gear worth $1800 a piece and they seemed to favour Nautica shorts and shirts, a brand seen by young men as having 'street cred'. The robberies were a real inconvenience and violation. Insurance doesn't cover lack of sleep and sanity."
Aware ram-raid and smash and grab incidents are making retailers more conscious of the need to protect their stores and warehouses, Signature Security Group's marketing and strategy manager, Francoise Ballard, says the outcome of a ram-raid can often cause deeper issues than simply loss of revenue and stock.
"The time taken to rebuild or repair any damage, the ongoing effect of loss of customers or store downtime, increased insurance premiums, etc - these are all reasons why retailers can't afford to not install appropriate security measures. Additionally it can help reduce business costs and insurance premiums rather than create a further expense for a retailer."
Adding that retailers are now looking for more than just back to base monitoring and alarms, Ballard says additional security measures - such as bollards or specially designed planter boxes - are being implemented, but quite often ram-raiders will find alternative ways to enter premises or remove these barriers.
"Incidences of bollards simply being chain-sawed down have been reported. A smoke protection system is the most effective new technology to protect theft occurring via ram-raids or smash and grabs. The reality is criminals will find a way into premises if they have the desire to do so and will quite often attack the same location more than once, but used in conjunction with a standard security system, Smokecloak can deter most burglaries and vandalism attempts."
Offered by numerous security agencies, according to the manufacturer the smoke protection system (Smokecloak or Smokeshield) has proven to be 100 per cent affective and is sold in more than 69 countries with over 80,000 units sold worldwide. Effective for after-hour break-ins, once an intruder is detected the device emits a cloud of odourless, harmless, 'dry' smoke (produced by mixing water and glycol through a heating element) masking all goods and making escaping difficult before police or security arrive. After ten seconds it's extremely difficult to see and after 20 seconds it's virtually impossible to see let alone steal or vandalise. Thoroughly tested by laboratories, the smoke will not damage, stain or leave any residue on all types of clothing and is completely safe for people, animals and all stock, equipment and fittings.
Also independently tested and verified as not harmful to people or animals by top UK toxicologists, RedWeb's forensic trace alarm has been identifying thieves in England for the past two years but as yet has not been utilized in Australasia.
Developed in the UK and distributed throughout Australasia by Cash Dye Australia, the innovative 'i-powder' device uses a unique "biosynthetic DNA fingerprint" and red staining dye to mark assailants with a bright red indelible DNA code.
Forensically linking the criminal to the scene, as the red dye degrades the UV element becomes prominent showing itself as an emerging pink 'halo' that is visible under standard UV light.
Registered to each individual premise with a code number and customer details, the aerosol canister is installed and positioned away from soft furnishings and stock. Usually positioned above entrances, exits or high value assets, it covers an area of approximately two to three feet in an oval area.
Philip Brown, national retail manager for ADT / Sensormatic, says major retailers in Australia are taking a stronger position on their security measures, however smaller to mid-size retailers are less committed to upfront security investment.
"ADT has found retailers are more receptive towards this investment and or additional spend, upon events that lead to losses."
Increasing his store security after a recent robbery where he lost over $200,000 of stock, George Georgiou, director of Adelaide-based womenswear boutique Alexis George, says the store was fitted with what he thought was a state-of -the-art alarm system, but it failed to go off during the burglary.
"The alarm company told me the thieves may have worn wetsuits or heavy clothing then covered the sensors with cardboard so they wouldn't go off. I've now been advised to get 'anti cloaking' sensors which of course are more expensive."
Recovering 80 per cent of the store's stock after posting a reward, Georgiou has since upped his security.
"We've upgraded our sensors to 'anti cloaking' ones, installed cameras throughout the store, a reed switch on doors and a vibration sensor by the glass at the front which activates the alarm instantly if it records glass breakage. We've also replaced back doors with steel liners, bars inside and the recommended double deadlocks and installed metals grills behind the front window."
With the added ability to log onto an IP address on his computer and view images of his store 24 hours a day, seven days a week anywhere in the world, Georgiou is also keeping an eye on his store remotely.
Remote business monitoring - linking an alarm panel and security cameras via internet or a web enabled mobile phone - provides business owners a way of watching over their properties regardless of their geographic location.
"This 'total communications' security solution is growing in popularity amongst small business," says Ballard. "It's perfect for small businesses that want to increase their security as well as decrease overall communication costs and ensure they still have separate lines for phone, eftpos, internet, fax, etc. Dual path monitoring also means the business isn't at risk if the intruder cuts the phone line which is a risk with standard dialer monitoring."
Offering a less technical option, Checkpoint Systems' service takes a snapshot of specific cameras when armed which can also be emailed to a computer or PDA.
"We've seen a slow uptake on this as it relies on the retailer carrying a PDA at all times," says Gino Severin, product manager for Checkpoint Systems. "But as this technology becomes mainstay, this solution will become a necessity. Security concerns should be a major part of a retailer's strategy when running their stores. It's as important as selling their goods and promoting their stores. As the role of retailers is to find ways to increase sales, it's equally important at reducing loss. Actually, increased sales are directly related to reducing loss, therefore they go hand in hand. There's not one without the other."