Are Conferences Still Relevant? The Expo Side
Part Two of Three - By Amber Bradley

Part One of this series revealed that loss prevention professionals must be intentional about what conferences they choose to attend. Most of these decisions must be based on relevance of content to everyday challenges: Which content addresses your specific challenges the best? If you're a retail executive, the Retail Industry Leaders Association's (RILA) Asset Protection conference should be on your calendar. The content has been stacked on day one, and day two was no exception.

Tuesday's keynote brought us, "Navigating Disruption in Retail," presented by Frank Hamlin, the Chief Marketing Officer of GameStop. Hamlin provided perspective on how transformational change in business is no longer an option and how retailers must change to survive. Hamlin offered examples of how GameStop is also innovating its own business model to adapt to today's experience-oriented shopper.

There were other sessions throughout the day that bolstered the conference's content even further. However, this Part 2 is called, "The EXPO side" for a reason. Let's look at the relevancy of conferences from the exhibitors' and attendees' perspective. Who hasn't heard at least once, "Why should I attend conferences? The solutions providers will just come see me." RILA underscores the inherent flaw with that perspective. By bringing together the industry's best and brightest solutions providers, RILA provides an atmosphere of learning, value and comparison in a quick three-day perusal. How much value does that time savings provide?

Read more here
 

Active Shooter Threat Top of Mind for Corporate America, Survey Finds
21 of top 27 company threat categories carried out by insiders

Active shooters are now the leading physical security threat concerning corporate America, according to a new survey released by Securitas Security Services USA. Notably, the threat from active shooters was first identified as a viable concern among security directors in Securitas' 2016 survey. Previously, it was not considered a top threat by survey respondents from any industry.

Entitled Top Security Threats (TST), the survey also revealed that of the 27 threat categories security executives consider to be a concern, 21 may be caused or carried out by company insiders.

Securitas' biennial TST report reflects the feedback from C-level directors and security managers from Fortune 1,000 companies and organizations responsible for the safety and security of people, property and assets.

The top three physical security threats as identified in the survey are:

   1. Active shooter or active assault/assailant threats
   2. Workplace violence prevention/responses
   3. Business continuity planning/organizational resilience

"While cybersecurity remains a top concern, there are threats to the safety of people and the security of buildings, equipment and other property that may cause considerable, long-lasting harm to an organization, affecting everything from productivity to business continuity," says Securitas USA COO William Barthelemy. "The reality is these threats can come from insiders, people typically not thought to be a primary threat." securitysales.com

Physical and Cyber Convergence-At Last?
We have been hearing about the "convergence" of physical and cyber security for years, but even today there are still debates about whether it has happened yet (spoiler alert: it hasn't). Part of the challenge might be that the word convergence itself can apply to more than one kind of activity - for example, some believe it applies to the linkages or integration of IT and security systems, while others believe it applies to IT and security organizational structures and teams.

Based on our experiences with some of the world's leading companies and a wide range of security system users in a variety of industries, we can say categorically that convergence is accelerating, but with severe challenges brought about by the nature of cyber threats. Physical security technology silos are rapidly being connected and integrated with corporate IT, not only for the transport of video data, but also to improve the management of video and access control systems themselves. Convergence on cyber issues is also happening, but more slowly than for physical security systems because there are significant differences in cyber-security and cyber-hygiene for physical security systems versus traditional computer and consumer device security.

Organizational solutions, such as how to integrate physical and cyber security procedures, or the optimal security team design, will continue to evolve over time as the threats and the nature of the workforce changes. securitymagazine.com

Editor's Note: Obviously this article is talking about industry as a whole and not the specialized nature of retail and the unique challenges retailers face. However the process and evolution is indeed the same and will ultimately mold itself accordingly with both groups learning the exceptions of the other that are actually focused on the same objective. Reducing risk and preventing/apprehending the bad actor.

It may be the territorial natures' of our two independent functions that delays and impacts it's evolution.
Just a thought.


Finding the Dirt on the CEO's of America
The Ruthless, Secretive, and Sometimes Seedy
World of Hedge Fund Private Investigators
"We're not trying to find the chairman [with] hookers....(Editor's Note: Yes they are) This is not a revenge business. I'm trying to figure out what's going on."

It was January 26, 2017. The two sleuths, employed by Berkeley Research Group, were knocking on the doors of neighbors of Klaus Kleinfeld, Arconic's then-CEO, in suburban Westchester County, New York. Claiming to be working for investors considering doing a deal with Kleinfeld, the men asked if the CEO was known to have loud parties. Later that evening, they were seen at Rye Grill & Bar, a local restaurant.

In the political world, in 2015 a Singer-financed publication was the first to hire investigative firm Fusion GPS in what ultimately resulted in the infamous Steele dossier on President Donald Trump.

"The use of private investigators is par for the course in proxy contests," "They're just like political campaigns with their opposition research."

The shadowy world of private investigative services, populated by ex-cops, former lawyers and prosecutors, former investigative journalists, and onetime spies from the CIA, Mossad, and MI5. It isn't just activist investors and their corporate prey who are hiring them, either. Long-short firms - notably short sellers - and private equity firms are also big clients, as are their investors.

Seasoned professionals acknowledge off the record what they won't acknowledge on: The field is awash in unscrupulous characters who stretch the outer bounds of legality and morality, individuals willing to secretly record targets, pay off sources, hack, and steal, all covered by what one due diligence researcher calls an attitude of "don't ask, don't tell, and finding murderers, thieves, second family's, children out of wedlock and just about everything you can imagine on CEO's, board nominees, and other C level executives, before major investors make their investments or nominate board members.

Lawyers who have hired private investigators say some investigators go as high as $750 per hour.

Firms like these keep a low profile, with little to no social media presence. While the work product of a number of firms occasionally makes its way into the media as part of a short seller campaign or proxy battle - typically without any fingerprints linking the information to the hedge fund or the investigator - many are reluctant to talk about their process.

Editor's Note: And it happens in retail all the time with the amount of investors, private equity groups, mergers and acquisitions that happen all year long and we never hear the results. institutionalinvestor.com

Securitas Security Services USA sued in Las Vegas over 2 deaths involving guard
One lawsuit stems from the previously unreported death of Jonathan Blackstone on Feb. 10, 2018. The 36-year-old died after a group of security guards tackled him in front of Showcase Mall on the Strip, after acting erratically in two stores, grabbing two employees by the arms in a Ross store and making "peculiar comments, "then sat on him and restricted his airway, the complaint alleges. Blackstone, who had schizophrenia, was "acting erratically" when the guards took action, according to attorneys representing the man's sister. His schizophrenia was listed as a contributing factor, the coroner's office said, along with cocaine and methamphetamine intoxication and obesity.

Because of "insufficient evidence," the Clark County DA's office declined to prosecute.

The other lawsuit against Securitas stems from the January 2017 death of Kimberlee Ann Kincaid-Hill. The 57-year-old was working at a Henderson jewelry store when a security guard opened fire on an attempted robber, who got away empty handed, but missed, instead striking Kincaid-Hill in the chest.

Henderson police described the shooting as an accident and did not seek charges.

Todd Moody, an attorney who represents the Kincaid-Hill estate said, "There is absolutely no allegation at all that this was intentional. It was a sad accident. But what we're focused on is did Securitas properly train him, had he carried a gun, was he familiar with the gun he used when he shot her."

Lyons is still a licensed security guard, and state records still list him as a Securitas employee. But he is no longer qualified to carry a firearm, his firearm certification lapsed and he did not requalify. reviewjournal.com

CBD Is Wildly Popular
Disputes Over Its Legality Are a Growing Source of Tension
Most states, though, have yet to change their laws to match the new federal rules, leaving local police and prosecutors in a quandary over what is legal and what is not. The result has been a gold rush of CBD marketers, a raft of online ruminations about what is permissible, and, increasingly, confusion.

For instance, when farmers in Oregon and Kentucky, which produce large amounts of hemp, send their product through Oklahoma and Idaho, truck drivers are sometimes arrested by state and local police for drug trafficking.

The Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a public hearing this month on the safety, sale and use of products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds, including CBD. nytimes.com

 

Senior AP/LP Job Market

Executive Director, Loss Prevention & Security for XPO Logistics in High Point, NC
Transport Topics ranked XPO Logistics #1 out of the top 50 logistics companies in North America, and Forbes named us one of America's best employers. Are you ready to take your career to the next level with a fast-growing global company? Then join XPO as the Executive Director, Loss Prevention & Security. You will assist in creating, implementing, maintaining and improving the security systems within our facilities around the world. We want to tap into your experience and expertise to protect and safeguard company assets, clients, employees and guests. Become a part of our dynamic team and we'll help you develop your career to a level that will exceed your expectations.  xpo.com

 

Fifth Avenue Losing Luster as Vacancies Climb, Rents Fall

Thousands of Uber Drivers Striking Today For Better Conditions


Quarterly Results

Rent-A-Center Q1 core U.S. comp's up 5.8%, core sales down 1.7%
Natural Grocers Q2 comp's up 2.9%, net sales up 6.7%
Sprouts Farmers Market Q1 comp's up 1.4%, sales up 10%
Fiesta Restaurant Group Q1 comp's down 2.6% and 0.5%, sales down 2.1%
Del Taco Q1 comp's down 0.1%, sales up 1.5%
Office Depot Q1 Retail comp's down 4%, BSD revenue up 1%, CompuCom sales down 4%, sales down 2%
Papa John's Q1 comp's down 6.9%, sales down 11.5%