It’s been fifteen years since LP Magazine was first introduced to the loss prevention industry. From that inaugural edition through today, there have been many great stories and great people that have filled the pages of the magazine. Many things have changed with both the people and the initiatives across the retail industry over that time. The clothes and the hairstyle that we wear have changed—at least for most of us. Fifty shades of grey was something that happened to the color of our hair rather than the theme for a movie. But as we’ve grown older, hopefully we’ve also grown a little wiser over that period of time. Hopefully, we’ve learned from the good and bad decisions that we’ve made in order to become more well-rounded leaders, better business partners, and better people.
Loss prevention and the retail industry in general have also gone through some tremendous changes. We’ve chronicled the explosion of loss prevention technology, the changes to the world in general, and how those changes have impacted the way that retailers do business. We’ve seen the rise of new products and new businesses. We’ve experienced the challenges and resilience of the business through difficult economic times. We’re witnessing how e-commerce and the world of omni-channel retailing are revolutionizing the business of retail.
New growth, new faces, and new ideas continue to influence the way that we do business and our approach to loss prevention as a profession. And with this has come new challenges. Data security threats have increased. Budgets have tightened. Organized retail crime has taken on new meaning. There’s an expectation to do more with less, yet still do it better. But we’ve also seen the rise of an industry certification. We have new and better tools that are available to help us, new solution providers to guide us through the process, new responsibilities, and new positions.
Read the full Parting Words column in the January-February 2016 issue.
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