Rhett Asher

As the world effectively shut down in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers were not the only businesses impacted. Solutions providers who partner with retailers have had to pivot their businesses to support their customers in different ways as well as change their way of doing business in a world of travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders. We asked the magazine’s Vendor Advisory Board members to offer their insights into how they navigated this unprecedented time and how they view… Show more

As the world effectively shut down in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers were not the only businesses impacted. Solutions providers who partner with retailers have had to pivot their businesses to support their customers in different ways as well as change their way of doing business in a world of travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders. We asked the magazine’s Vendor Advisory Board members to offer their insights into how they navigated this unprecedented time and how they view changes that will be necessary going forward. Here are some comments from ADT Commercial, Appriss Retail, Axis Communications, CAP Index, CONTROLTEK, Protos Security, Siffron, and ThinkLP. Show less

NASP and its retail advisory committee have launched and are leading a new industry initiative in the form of a coalition to promote an organized national effort to impact shoplifting recidivism through a focus on education.

It seems increasingly clear that innovation is the difference maker in today’s great retail shakeout. Success—and perhaps even survival—rests squarely upon it.

he National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) has tapped two asset protection industry veterans in Rhett Asher, vice president of strategy at ThinkLP, and Paul Jones, director of loss prevention and e-commerce fraud at The Vitamin Shoppe, as the first to serve as chairpersons of its Retail Advisory Committee. This move reinforces the organization’s effort to connect retailers and criminal justice, encourage collaboration, and actively reduce shoplifting and shoplifter recidivism… Show more

he National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) has tapped two asset protection industry veterans in Rhett Asher, vice president of strategy at ThinkLP, and Paul Jones, director of loss prevention and e-commerce fraud at The Vitamin Shoppe, as the first to serve as chairpersons of its Retail Advisory Committee. This move reinforces the organization’s effort to connect retailers and criminal justice, encourage collaboration, and actively reduce shoplifting and shoplifter recidivism through education and the support of responsible criminal justice reform efforts while reducing theft and improving safety in stores and communities alike. Show less

As this holiday season approaches, are you ready to stand with your IT security counterparts and protect the brand? How many of you have a working relationship with your IT security department? Do you collaborate on “like” issues, share information, or sit at the table together to strategize and defend your company from both physical and digital threats? Do you discuss and assist in finding the right partners to protect your brand integrity? If not, you should. You are the original brand… Show more

As this holiday season approaches, are you ready to stand with your IT security counterparts and protect the brand? How many of you have a working relationship with your IT security department? Do you collaborate on “like” issues, share information, or sit at the table together to strategize and defend your company from both physical and digital threats? Do you discuss and assist in finding the right partners to protect your brand integrity? If not, you should. You are the original brand protectors. Show less

Fundamentally, we view cybersecurity as a brand-protection issue. Many people get lost in the technicality of the cyber world and forget that, at its core, cyber is about protecting people, their data, their privacy, and, ultimately, their choices. This is especially true in the retail industry when cybercriminals can extrapolate patterns about someone’s life from their purchase history, which could be used to exploit or victimize them. Retailers who protect their customers’ choices ultimately… Show more

Fundamentally, we view cybersecurity as a brand-protection issue. Many people get lost in the technicality of the cyber world and forget that, at its core, cyber is about protecting people, their data, their privacy, and, ultimately, their choices. This is especially true in the retail industry when cybercriminals can extrapolate patterns about someone’s life from their purchase history, which could be used to exploit or victimize them. Retailers who protect their customers’ choices ultimately provide superior customer experience and are able to maintain the level of credibility, loyalty, and trust they’ve built. Unfortunately, it only takes one data breach to cause significant, and sometimes irreparable, damage to a company’s reputation. Show less

Operational shrink, or those losses attributed to poor execution and process failure, is a multifaceted challenge that, according to the University of Florida, accounts for nearly 18 percent of retailers’ total shrink. We caught up with two well-known asset protection and security experts for a discussion on current operational shrink threats and, more importantly, how to mitigate them.

I’m always honored and intrigued at the level of commitment our executive volunteers demonstrate toward creating valuable and challenging experiences for FMI members and conference attendees.

The recent earthquake and threat of hurricane Irene that affected Washington, D.C. in a span of one week elevated my priorities from aware to alert. Fortunately, these events were not devastating to the majority of our members, but collectively, they were a strong reminder to deepen our resources and broaden member participation regarding critical business issues.