River Island is one of the biggest names in British high street fashion. They first installed the Concept Tag in four stores in 2016, including their largest store on Oxford Street.
Implementing an incremental rollout, with effectiveness being measured and confirmed in each location, Concept Tags were then sent to a further ten stores across the UK, as well as two in the Netherlands and Sweden.
Over the course of the trial, River Island experienced a large drop in tagged garment theft – averaging 60% – whilst also seeing a reduction in the theft of non-tagged items.
The retailer also deployed an RFID solution to all stores, enabling them to track inventory accuracy to 97% and provide a clear picture of their stock losses.
Following the successful trial results, the Concept Tag was rolled out to 200 of River Island’s stores – approximately three quarters of their total estate – with over five million tags now protecting their stock.
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 – or happen so quickly.
Helen Tierney
Senior Profit Protection Manager, River Island
Phase 1
2016 – 110,000 installed in first four stores
Phase 2
2016-2017 – 284,000 tags installed in 12 stores
Phase 3
2017 – further 70 stores
Phase 4
2018-2019 – additional 113 stores