STORES Magazine - September 2008 - (Page L14)

LP PROGRAM-BUILDING provider, “the big issue was not only how could we replicate the service we had received under the previous ownership but how could we utilize the relationship with the service providers to elevate the brand,” French says. Range of services The Limited chose LP Innovations (LPI) as its field service provider, primarily due to the range of services LPI could provide and that “we believed that they could meet our needs, not only functionally but culturally.” Headquartered in Milford, Mass., LP Innovations is the only nationwide single-source provider of loss prevention solutions, according to president and CEO Steven May. Programs include employee theft investigation, best practice auditing, compliance auditing, in-store trainee education, exceptionbased reporting and analysis as Under new ownership, The Limited well as targeted programs designed for specific stores that have restructures LP from the ground up a serious shrinkage problem. For The Limited, LPI conducted BY D. GAIL FLEENOR best-practice audits “with an eye “As a brand, toward coaching and education so stablishing a retail loss prevention program for we are constanta new business is difficult, but what if you had ly focused on that deficiencies were identified to hit the ground running with a program to pro- elevating the but in a manner that showed the customer experitect more than 240 stores across the country? stores what they needed to do to ence, and everycomply and why those compliance issues were important,” May says. Tracey French, corporate LP managsults. “We worked thing that LP does is required Also covered were refund fraud er for Columbus, Ohio-based The Lim- to develop these into support that.” and shoplifting, and a fully impleited, faced just that situation when Sun ternal relationships – Tracey French, mented program was in place Capital Partners purchased the chain of into loss prevention The Limited within 45 days. upscale women’s apparel stores from standard bearers, Before the spin-off, store personnel Limited Brands last summer. folks who would continue the mesA certified forensic interviewer and sage in the course of their function,” were accustomed to a close relationship with Limited Brands LP associretail veteran, French joined Limited he says. Brands in 2003. Following the sale, Next on French’s list was identifying ates. To aid the transition, French created a grid showing the LP features his immediate challenge became con- all functions of the new LP departtinuing the type and quality of LP ment. “As a brand, we are constantly and services Limited Brands offered functionality at what is now a much focused on elevating the customer ex- and another to illustrate what The smaller organization. perience, and everything that LP does Limited would receive from LPI. He used the latter grid to demon“The first step I took was to devel- is required to support that.” The op a road map that detailed goals, process included extensive bench- strate to field personnel that all key functions would still be covered and how we would measure our progress, marking with Limited Brands, with define our principles and set clear pri- which The Limited retains a strong re- emphasize how LPI would fit in. “We were able to create an alignment orities,” French says. He then identi- lationship, as well as with other Sun where each district had one ‘go to’ LP fied staff members who would have a Capital companies. direct stake in the shrink and safety reWhen it came time to select a service person,” he says. “This has helped de- Maximizing Functionality E L14 STORES / SEPTEMBER 2008 WWW.LPINFORMATION.COM http://WWW.LPINFORMATION.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - September 2008

STORES Magazine - September 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Office Depot Unveils First Green Store Dunkin’ Donuts Debuts DDSMART What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Are You a Facebook Fan? RFID Concept2Watch E-commerce Supply Chain Marketing ERP Credit Web Optimization LP Vantage Point Newsbeat Cover Story LP Program Building Biometrics Industry Perspective Customer Service Site Selection E-Commerce LOEB Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - September 2008

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