Jaeger invests in data mining to cut stock loss

Classic fashion retailer Jaeger is about to start a data-mining project as part of a £120,000 effort to curb the loss of stock from crime or waste - known in the industry as shrinkage.

The initiative is part of a five-year process focused on shifting attitudes to theft and loss within the retailer, since it was acquired by tycoon Harold Tillman. Loss prevention was unknown as a concept until the stores came into Tillman's hands, according to Jaeger's head of safety Steve Hearn.

silicon.com Retail & Leisure

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The data-mining application, supplied by IDM Software will bring together business information from the IT, HR and finance departments to support efforts to make staff more aware of stock loss.

These efforts include a training programme, called Thinkschool conducted by consultancy Oris and security specialist Checkpoint, to train store managers in managing shrinkage and rely less on EAS tags on garments to deter thieves.

Speaking at the Retail Business Show in London, Hearn explained only 30 per cent of the retailer's stock shrinkage came from external theft. The other 70 per cent came from internal theft, process error and supplier error. As a result, further investment in EAS tagging, where tags set off an alarm if they pass through scanners at the door, will now be diverted to other technologies, such as CCTV.

Hearn told silicon.com: "We are concentrating on looking at the data within the business. Data capture is key to showing us where the stock loss actually is."