Hollister is owned by Abercrombie and Fitch and has been providing casual clothing for both men and women since the first store opened on July 7, 2000.
These days, there are almost 600 Hollister stores all over the world, which brings us to our topic today – What is the Hollister Shoplifting Policy?
Despite being scattered across the globe, Hollister’s shoplifting policies are fairly uniform throughout their locations. Security camera footage watches and retains video for potential evidence and security tagging further helps to prevent unpurchased items from leaving the store. Employees are also trained to watch for suspicious behaviors, and many locations have security guards.
In order to get a better idea of the ‘big picture’ when it comes to Hollister loss prevention policies, a closer look is definitely warranted, so read on and we’ll tell you all about the Hollister Shoplifting policy!
Hollister is Global – So variations of security will occur
Before we get properly started, we should mention that with stores in the United States, Europe, and Asia, Hollister is dealing with a wide assortment of laws that define what they can and cannot do in cases where shoplifting is witnessed or suspected.
As such, we’ll focus on what they have in common to give you a general idea of what kind of security measures are in place where Hollister Co. Shoplifting Policies are concerned.
Video cameras (and retained footage)
Everyone is used to the old ‘electric eye’ being just about everywhere you go. Fast food restaurants, and retail stores, and some people even have them in their homes or monitoring the porch.
Hollister is certainly no exception, and they have cameras that not only watch the inside of the stores but which will also retain that data for a set amount of time.
This means that employees or security guards can keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviors, but also adds the extra threat of looking at past footage when a shoplifter is caught to see if they’ve been doing this at the store for a long time.
Should such footage show suspicious activities, then this footage may be turned over to the police and a shoplifter might find that their single shoplifting charge has turned into multiple, potentially misdemeanor charges, fines, and potential jail time instead.
Data may be kept for as little as 90 days, or even a year or more, depending on the corporate data retention policy, and usually, it will be stored at the store location AND at a remote location, likely in a server room many miles away so that criminals cannot simply sneak into the back and take away the hard drive.
Hollister does not use anything fancy, such as facial recognition, but the video surveillance and retaining the footage are still considered quite effective for loss prevention purposes, and we should note that local police might well simply post video footage on YouTube if they can’t identify you right away.
You can see a video here where police publicly posted footage when shoplifting suspects in Spartanburg South Carolina are believed to have left a Hollisters store with over $7000 in merchandise, so even if a shoplifter makes it out of the store, there is definitely no guarantee that they won’t still be seeing the inside of a prison in the very near future.
Security tagging
Security tags are certainly nothing new and these are also quite liberally used as Hollister locations. While they do not interface with a software-driven security measure, such as you might see in larger stores as a means to track moving inventory in real time, these tags are quite effective nonetheless.
A special tool must be used by the cashier when a customer is paying for their purchases, so these tags are hard to otherwise remove without damaging the clothing.
Furthermore, when someone takes clothing that they didn’t pay for and tries to walk through the security arches, an alarm will sound and a security guard or even mall security will usually confront the shoplifter at this time.
Security guards
Here is where you will get a LOT of variance, but most stores will have at least 1 security guard, although since Hollister is global the number of guards will vary quite a bit – you might see 1 or maybe 2, or there might not be a guard at all.
When they are present, they will be unarmed and they aren’t going to touch you, but will typically only become involved if someone is making a scene inside the store or if a suspected shoplifter attempts to leave.
Typically, they will not chase someone who runs, but they might well follow this person while calling the police to help ensure that they are caught.
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Loss Prevention Associates and Employee training
Loss prevention associates are assigned to stores to help reduce employee theft and also to help prevent shoplifting.
Usually plain-clothed (but not always), these staff members may well directly confront a suspicious customer attempting to leave the store, and often they will have the security guard with them.
Employees are also trained to watch for other employees or customers attempting to pocket, hide, or otherwise obfuscate an item in a suspicious or deliberate manner.
Unlike Loss Prevention associates, they will not usually directly confront a customer, although they might ask if that person needs help finding something to let them know in a passive way that they are being watched.
Most often, however, employees are trained to simply contact a Loss Prevention associate or call the police directly so that they may deal with the issue in such a way that customers and employees are kept safe.
An example of a training video from one Hollister Co. location in Madrid, Spain, may be found here as an example.
While it’s a little cheesy, the point is pretty clear – in each instance, the employee notices something suspicious and goes straight for the phone to call the police.
What happens if I am caught shoplifting at Hollister?
If you are caught shoplifting at a Hollister, you will be asked to return the items and they may or may not charge you, although in most cases the police have already been called and you may be looking at a misdemeanor – it really depends on the value of the items that were taken and not paid for.
At this point, it is best to be polite – remember that you are on camera and this footage may very well be used against you.
It would also be wise to retain the services of a lawyer and even if you are not banned from the store, it’s probably a good idea not to go back there – at least for a very long time.
Should you be banned from the store, returning means that you could be charged with trespassing and earn yourself an instant ticket to jail, so it’s best not to ‘test the ban’ if you should receive one.
We aren’t kidding about getting a lawyer, either. Shoplifting carries serious fines and potential jail time and if you have a lawyer, then you might be able to work out an agreement with the judge where you can avoid jailtime with public service and if you are very lucky, maybe the charges will even be dropped.
So, get a lawyer if you are caught shoplifting – it’s expensive but definitely in your best interest and you don’t want to rely on a public defender who might just be interested in getting home fast.
Some final words on the Hollister Shoplifting policy
Today we have talked about the Hollister Shoplifting Policy and as you can see, this clothing store doesn’t have the most aggressive policy, but shoplifters are caught there every day so you can’t say that it’s not effective.
By using surveillance cameras and keeping footage, training employees to watch for suspicious behavior and to call the police, as well as having loss prevention associates and guards who are also keeping a watchful eye, this policy is effective enough to help keep prices low and to deter shoplifters from potentially hefty fines and jail time.
Remember that Hollister’s is global, as well – so aside from the basics that we know about, there might just be a few extra surprises waiting for anyone considering shoplifting at Hollister Co.!
Reference Sources
https://kingstoncourier.co.uk/bentall-centres-hollister-targeted-by-shoplifters/