The New Year is often bittersweet. On one hand, I look back at 2016 with a bit of nostalgia given it was the magazine’s fifteenth anniversary and a very successful year for our print and digital offerings. Then again, looking forward to 2017 is exciting as we face the challenges of producing an even better product for our readers and advertising partners. To that end, we are launching several new editorial projects that we expect will be interesting to our audience.
Benchmarking
The first appears in this issue: The Benchmarking column is the result of a collaboration between three gentlemen who have been working together on various projects for the past decade or more—Adrian Beck, a researcher at the University of Leicester in the UK; Walter Palmer, a consultant and trainer here in the US; and Colin Peacock, formerly with Proctor & Gamble and now associated with both ECR Europe and the Retail Industry Leaders Association here in the states.
These associates—and close friends—will produce a series of surveys on specific topics of interest to retail loss prevention practitioners. Their column in the magazine will provide an executive summary of the results of these surveys to allow readers to compare the results against their own organizations’ experiences. The first of these studies is on “Comparing Policies and Practices on Managing Shoplifting.” I encourage everyone to read the results and participate in future studies to provide the best results possible.
Excellence
Something else new in this issue is a column devoted to recognizing individuals in our industry who exemplify excellence in their professions and communities. Read about two asset protection executives and a law enforcement partner who we believe are worthy of recognition to the greater LP community. Mike Lamb, LPC, of Walmart, Bob MacLea of TJX, and Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross of the Boston Police Department, each in his own way, has made a significant positive contribution to his organization and community.
In each edition, we plan to recognize those individuals nominated by their peers for contributing to the betterment of the industry. We purposely have not constructed a litany of rules for what we think should be recognized. We want to hear what you think someone has done that merits recognition—whether it be at the individual store level or across the broad industry. This also includes our solution provider partners. Please let us hear about someone you work with who deserves to be acknowledged. Send your nominations to excellence (at) LPportal (dot) com.
Perspectives
Another new column is in the works that will focus on thoughts and perspectives from the solution provider side of the table. The retail industry is lucky to have a great number of intelligent, strong partners developing new products and services to meet the needs of loss prevention organizations. We hope to tap into the thought processes and visions of the executive teams running these companies to provide insights to practitioners and promote better understanding and partnerships. Look for the first of these articles soon on our digital channel and in a future print edition.
These new editorial projects are meant to expand the scope and quality of the information we provide our readers. We welcome your comments—both positive and negative—about any of our editorial and suggestions for topics you would like us to explore. Suggestions are welcome via editor (at) LPportal (dot) com.
