Sainsbury's completes EAS installation

Security solutions provider, Checkpoint Systems has completed the install of 3G Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) technology into the last remaining Sainsbury's stores across the UK.

The system potentially enables the extension of its source-tagging programme whereby the security tag is integrated directly into the product's labelling or packaging at the point of manufacture. This means that the product arrives in-store shelf-ready from a security point-of-view.

Currently, Sainsbury's source tags a number of its lines, including the Jamie Oliver meat range and TU clothing, however, the company is exploring the possibility of rolling-out to the company's health and beauty, beers, wines and spirits, and electrical ranges as part of this latest agreement.

Commenting on the deal, Phil Wilson, head of operational support for retail profit protection at Sainsbury's said: "In-store protection is high on our agenda at Sainsbury's; we took the decision to invest in this EAS programme with our EAS partner Checkpoint Systems. This now allows us to pursue a wide-ranging source tagging programme, which has some huge potential benefits."

"We take the threat of shoplifting very seriously and anything we can do to reduce it is a top priority. Source tagging means we can consistently protect our products and reduce the amount of time our colleagues have to spend securing the items, that's a double business benefit," added Wilson.

www.checkpointeurope.co.uk

IKEA France invests in IP-CCTV for new store

IKEA France has invested in IndigoVision's IP Video solution for CCTV surveillance in its new 215,000 sq ft flagship store in Grenoble. Swedish-based IKEA is one of the largest home furnishing retail groups in the world, with stores in 36 countries. The new store, which opened in October 2007, is seen as a test site for the adoption of IP-CCTV for other new IKEA stores in France.

The 36-camera system was installed by IndigoVision's local partner Concept Maintenance and the compression technology used allows the entire IP Video system to operate on the store's existing LAN with minimal impact on network bandwidth. The IKEA network supports Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), which allows any new IP cameras to be connected directly to the network via a single CAT-5 cable.

Image quality and ease of use of 'Control Center', IndigoVision's IP Video and alarm management software, were just two of the reasons the IndigoVision solution was chosen. The security operators required no more than 2 hours of training to fully operate the system. A single 'Control Center' workstation is located in the security control room where the operators view live video only. A second 'Control Center' workstation is located in the IT room where the Security Manager can view both live and recorded video, as only management is allowed to view recorded footage. Three IndigoVision standalone Network Video Recorders (NVRs) provide 15 days of continuous recordings from all cameras.

Commenting on the operation of the new system, Sylvie Weber, IKEA's country security manager, said of the IndigoVision system, "We are very pleased with the system and in particular with the superb image quality and the 'Control Center' user interface. It's very easy to find and analyze a particular video clip, which can then be exported in a tamper-proof form for police evidence if required."

www.indigovision.com

One Stop shops for efficient voice

One Stop, the UK retail convenience business expects to save nearly £40,000 per year on telecoms expenditure following the deployment of Azzurri Communications' Telecoms Expense Management (TEM) service.

The managed service, which consolidates and continuously evaluates an organisation's communications spend, will remove the complexities of managing multiple carriers and pricing, and help to improve the performance of One Stop's telephony service across its 500 stores.

John Sargeant, head of IT for One Stop, comments; "With such a large estate, managing the intricacies and cost implications of a multi-branch voice system can be highly complex."

Says Sargeant, "The different pricing options and packages are numerous, and to remain competitive and to secure the best possible service you need to constantly review all available options. By joining forces with Azzurri, we are able to better procure and manage what is a significant constituent of our communications infrastructure."

Following an initial audit of One Stop's communications charges, Azzurri identified a number of areas for improvement, such as disconnecting redundant lines and adopting a better pricing strategy with existing telecoms providers, which resulted in an immediate saving of 10%.

Working with One Stop, Azzurri will continue to assess and deploy best-price rates; reduce duplicate billing, excess capacity and redundant lines; provide 24/7 monitoring and fault resolution; and, critically, deliver real-time visibility of reporting from a single web-portal.

www.azzurricommunications.com

UK has highest payment card ownership in Europe

The UK has more payment cards per adult than any other country in Western Europe according to a new report from Datamonitor - "Western European Cards Database 2007". The average British adult now carries 2.8 cards in their wallet, more than any other country in Europe. This has grown from 2.4 cards in 2002 and is expected to exceed three cards per adult by 2011.

In comparison, Norway, which has the second highest number of cards per adult, lags behind the UK with 2.3 cards per adult. Germany has 1.6 payment cards per adult, and France has just one per adult, on average.

Andrew Fabricius, Datamonitor financial services analyst and author of the report comments, "In the UK consumers use debit cards for day-to-day spending much like their European counterparts, but are increasingly using credit cards as borrowing tools, applying for new credit cards to transfer an outstanding balance and to take advantage of interest free offers. In most other countries, consumers do not view credit cards as a borrowing tool and as a result they are not so popular."

More notable is the high number of credit cards per adult in the UK. At the end of 2006 the average adult had 1.4 credit cards, twice that of the next most penetrated market, which is Norway, with 0.7 cards per adult. In Spain there are just 0.4 cards per person, and in Germany, where credit products are very unpopular, the figure is as low as 0.06, or approximately just one card for every sixteen adults.

"The high penetration of credit cards in the UK is due to consumers being happy to pay for goods and services by using credit and enjoy the flexibility of paying for purchases over a longer period of time. By contrast, consumers in Germany have a more disciplined attitude towards expenditure and as a result credit cards are far less popular," Fabricius said.

However, a slowdown is afoot. In terms of total card numbers, the UK credit card market is predicted to grow at an average annual growth rate of just 0.2%, the slowest growth rate in the region.

www.datamonitor.com