Sector Focus
Retail Crime fighters recover goods
A new crime-fighting network set up to tackle retail theft and anti- social behaviour in Birmingham has recovered more than £135,000 of stolen goods in its first year. City Safe was launched in
response to Retail BID Birmingham members who were becoming increasingly concerned about business crime and the impact of anti-social behaviour on the safety of staff and visitors. The scheme uses a digital radio
network, instant text messages and access to CCTV imagery using data-compliant software managed in a central control room. More than 200 businesses have
joined the scheme, which operates in the city centre retail and leisure area, Southside and Colmore Business Districts. Members pay just £10 per week
to be a part of the new network, which is being led by Retail BID in partnership with West Midlands Police, British Transport Police and retail centre security staff. During its first year, City Safe saw more than 1,142 incidents dealt with and some £135,259 of goods recovered. A recent example of a City Safe success involved a known and
prolific shoplifter who entered a city centre department store where she attempted to steal £235-worth of men’s boxer shorts. City Safe officers were called to
help apprehend the shoplifter discovered she had 20 pairs of designer glasses in her handbag, stolen from a nearby opticians. Last November, two females
were detained for theft at a High Street retailer and £600-worth of jewellery was recovered.
One of the females was found to
be wearing an improvised pouch under her main clothing, which was designed to conceal much larger stolen items. The pair were linked to a group targeting beauty products and jewellery in High Wycombe and Reading. City Safe is a member of the
National Association of Business Crime Partnerships (NABCP) and is managed by Retail BID board co- optee Jonathan Cheetham.
Jonathan Cheetham: City Safe has been a huge success
Mr Cheetham said that one of
the main benefits of City Safe was its deterrent value, which he said was ‘huge’. He said: “It is helping businesses
protecting their profitability. A concern for BID members in Birmingham was that anti-social behaviour and criminality was on the rise, so we set up City Safe to create great communication between businesses about criminality. “It’s about criminality and great
partnerships with West Midlands Police and British Transport Police, who listen in to all our traffic and, where appropriate, make a response.” City Safe isn’t just about
deterring criminals – it is also used to look out for, and to help, vulnerable people. A recent example is a homeless
person who was spotted by a City Safe officer whose clothes were literally falling apart. Within an hour or two, this individual had been provided with a set of new clothes. “It’s about assisting people as
well as helping the police,” Mr Cheetham added.
Adapting to meet the needs of shoppers
Touchwood has always had a good balance of retail and leisure. A mix of great fashion brands, beauty, gifting, technology, coffee shops and restaurants. A question, we continually ask ourselves and our customers though, is whether that balance is right and what does it need to be. We’re currently awaiting the
results of our latest in-depth customer surveys collected in person throughout December. Over recent years, as we would expect, our guests told us that the way they shop has changed. So much is done online but people also enjoy shopping in person, especially when you’re making a ‘day out’ of it. Another factor that arose was that
bricks and mortar stores were a great place for collecting and returning goods purchased online and, very interestingly, this often led to further unplanned or impulse purchases with guests being lured by window displays and environment. In fact, 52 per cent of guests coming in to ‘click and collect’ went on to spend a further £76 each, on average, during that visit. The way Next proactively
manage ‘Click and Collect’, among others has become very slick and of course John Lewis have a dedicated
94 CHAMBERLINK February 2020 Retail Therapy
By Tony Elvin General manager, Touchwood
‘Click and Collect’ with its own dedicated car park, these businesses are proactively driving an online presence to benefit their bricks and mortar stores. The demand or desire for a ‘day
out’ at a shopping centre has led to managers and owners looking to diversify what they offer. Bricks and mortar stores alone are not a big enough draw for consumers, we need to offer other experiences to make us a destination worth visiting. Solihull is evolving as a
destination and we don’t yet have enough ‘leisure’. The introduction of new independent restaurants and bars to complement our trusted brands is long overdue in Solihull.
Why should we have to go into
Birmingham to eat food cooked by a family owned business? Our cinema is very successful so why don’t we have a bowling centre or escape room too? We put a mini golf course into the centre over the summer as a pop up and it was hugely popular.
I’d love to see something like that here permanently as there’s clearly a demand for it. The success of both Jamaya and
Asha’s since their arrival in Touchwood has shown there is an appetite for high quality independent experiences, and the anticipation for Yakinori in Touchwood and the Taste Collective in Mell Square is palpable. Fingers
crossed we can add the planned bowling centre with cocktail bar to that line-up this year too. Shopping centres and high
streets are a crucial meeting place for our communities so it’s important we don’t let them go the way of Woolworths. We will continue to keep asking questions and continuing to evolve our offer to stay relevant, something that I believe is essential for any business. Touchwood houses some of the
UK’s best restaurants, international brands, designer retailers and independent boutique style stores. For further information, visit
www.touchwoodsolihull.co.uk or telephone 0121 709 6900.
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