With Eagles fans showing their colors throughout the City of Brotherly Love, the loss prevention trifecta converged this year in downtown Philadelphia from October 10th – 12th to review 2018 performance and tackle strategic agendas as we move forward into 2019. Back-to-back-to-back loss prevention leadership meetings took the field this past week in support of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), LP Magazine, and the Loss Prevention Foundation, with loss prevention leaders and solution providers coming together to offer their advice, ideas, expertise and feedback.
A Few Fun Facts
Most of us know that Philadelphia is at the foundation of the birth of our country, home of the Liberty Bell and the home of the U.S. Constitution. But did you know that:
• Philadelphia is considered a “Center City,” with 25 percent of the U.S. population living within 5 hours of the city.
• Known as “The Keystone State,” which refers to the central stone in an arch which holds all the other stones together—Pennsylvania was at the center of the original 13 colonies, with 6 above it and 6 below it.
• Philadelphia is home of America’s first hospital and medical school.
• It is also the home of America’s first zoo, which was founded by Benjamin Franklin.
• In addition to cheesesteaks, the first American pretzels were baked in Pennsylvania, and it is also widely known for candy treats such as Peeps, Mike & Ike’s, Hot Tamales, and of course, Hershey chocolates.
The Meetings
Rather than simply providing a recap of the trifecta of meetings which took place, it’s just as important to understand why these meetings are held. These events allow industry leaders to get together to discuss the topics that matter most to the loss prevention industry—what we’ve accomplished, what latest trends and topics are having the greatest impact on the profession, and how we can work collectively moving forward to benefit the industry and the professionals that serve across the loss prevention community.
We understand the passion that our community has to learn and grow as professionals, and the need to find the best and most effective ways to expand our awareness and our knowledge base. Serving the loss prevention community is both a privilege and a responsibility, requiring both reflection and foresight to meet the changing needs of the business. By coming together as a team, industry leaders and our valued solution provider partners can collectively take us into 2019 with both high expectations and a solid foundation. These meetings provide the opportunity for all those involved to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry and ensure that your needs are met as part of our AP/LP family.
RILA’s Asset Protection Leaders Council
Kicking off on Tuesday was RILA’s Asset Protection Leaders Council, holding industry-focused presentations, ongoing and upcoming initiatives, insights into many of the key issues faced by today’s loss prevention professionals, and other core topics that can help our industry move forward into the new year.
As a trade association representing leading retail companies in each retail vertical, RILA has served as the premier advocate for America’s most sophisticated retailers, providing a forum for executives to solve common problems and share leading practices. For more on the Retail Industry Leaders Association and how to participate, read the Part 1 and Part 2 articles featuring the Retail Industry Leaders Association from the March-April 2018 edition of LP Magazine.
LP Magazine Annual Meeting
The LP Magazine Vendor Advisory Board meeting was held Thursday morning, followed by the Editorial Board meeting on Thursday afternoon. During these meetings LP Magazine reviewed the various improvements and accomplishments over the past year, as well as offering several keynote speakers that discussed some of today’s most compelling trends and topics. Look for more specifics from our speakers in the November-December edition of LP Magazine.
An essential aspect of these meetings is to actively request input on previous content, potential topics, and how we can continue to improve our resources and our reach to bring the LP community the quality product that you have come to expect. Both board members and guests are asked to provide their thoughts and ideas on content, topics, delivery, and other important contributions to further enhance the information and quality provided to our readers. We will also reviewed our LP Magazine Online and the exciting new ways that we will be sharing the latest news and information with the loss prevention community, along with initial strategies to address the needs and interests of our readership as we march onward into 2019.
The Loss Prevention Foundation
The Loss Prevention Foundation took the field on Friday morning. Following a board-only session to begin the day, guests were invited to attend the rest of the meeting, with discussions regarding the progress of the LPF, the continuing growth of the certification programs and exciting updates on the latest offerings from LPF.
The LPC and LPQ certifications continue to show an upward trend in course participation and certified members, with companies across the country showing a strong and growing commitment to the certification process. Academic support for certification has also continued to expand. Look for even more content additions and updates over the next year to further enhance learning opportunities
As part of the high-quality expectations established by the loss prevention community, the LPF has completed industry-specific programs which include courses on Addressing Disruptive Behaviors and Organized Retail Crime developed with exceptional input from leading subject matter experts across the industry. This will be an area of continuing development to help the loss prevention community continue to meet the complex and changing needs of the retail business.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the Loss Prevention Foundation or the LPC and LPQ courses, or the latest Certificate courses, please visit losspreventionfoundation.org.
Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions that you would like to share that can help support or improve any of these organizations? We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts below.