See how rue21 got time and money back by implementing an outsourced loss prevention program

Summary

rue21 knew they needed to future-proof their retail operations with efficient, flexible solutions. With retail strategies for optimizing brick-and-mortar locations ever-changing, rue21 began exploring solutions and partners that could help them realize their goals. They believed shifting from an internal loss prevention team to a fully outsourced model could be the key to increasing agility while reducing costs.

The Challenge

rue21 needed an LP solution to fully address their needs at a lower cost. They were interested in transitioning to a fully outsourced loss prevention department that could positively impact their bottom line. DTiQ crafted a custom LP program tailored to address key issues in their current efforts.

The Benefits

• Shrink Reduction – Shrink percentage under DTiQ is lower than any of the five years prior to the partnership, with a consecutive 28% reduction in shrink percent in the first two years.
• A dedicated team – DTiQ’s national team in the field means more time training staff on location, unified partnership between DMs, and less windshield time. This is compared to a smaller internal LP team that saw fewer in-person visits and worked independently from District Managers.
• LP Audit program – DTiQ provides a proactive assessment of operational compliance, identification of trends, and the opportunity for policy improvement.
• Managed Services – DTiQ provides a solution for LP support beyond stores with a physical LP presence at the rue21 corporate office responsible for managing vendors, improving efficiency, and reducing costs.

The Solution

DTiQ’s LP solution combines, advanced analytics, expert services, and video intelligence to deliver unparalleled performance improvement solutions to customers. Our LP solution included field support for rue21’s stores, in addition to in-person coaching and training for every store with a rigorous operational audit. To date, DTiQ completed 1,200 audits per year across rue21 stores nationwide. To drive improvement results needed to be tracked and shared. Our field staff collected, reviewed, and followed up with their findings, and the results were astounding. Prior to partnering with DTiQ, rue21’s internal LP team did not complete audits but did complete 153 investigations in 2019. DTiQ averages 200+ investigations per year, in addition to audits across rue21’s national locations.

The Outcome

The result was a consistent, focused loss prevention solution that drove accountability and delivered incredible results. In comparison to rue21’s internal LP team, DTiQ has completed:

• 3,632 audits – resulting in a 100% increase as rue21’s previous LP team had not conducted audits
• 648 investigations – resulting in a 28% increase despite the partnership beginning in 2020
• 324 reported exceptions – resulting in at least 100 more EBR exceptions YOY

These efforts resulted in an 11% reduction in shrink dollars after the first year and a 23% reduction in shrink dollars after two years.

DTiQ’s LP program addressed all of rue21’s issues – spending less time and money on loss prevention AND seeing improvement to their bottom line. Aside from the considerable cost savings and shrink improvement, the store culture took a much more positive outlook on loss prevention.

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