As garden centres across the UK face an increase in targeted theft of high-value items, one business has found a smarter solution that is already delivering results.
Fairweathers Garden Centre in Hampshire recently turned to Chirp Protect, a new security system designed specifically to meet the challenges of open-plan retail environments such as garden centres, farm shops and lifestyle stores. The results have been significant.
“Chirp has given us another level of protection for higher-value goods that our conventional security tagging system did not provide. Its alarm when tags are tampered with in-store has already prevented multiple high-value thefts.”
– Patrick Fairweathers, Owner, Fairweathers Garden Centre
Fairweathers had previously invested in a traditional EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) system, but found that it wasn’t robust enough. Tags could be removed or disabled with magnets, and open exit points such as restaurants, cafés and garden areas remained vulnerable.
Chirp Protect offered an immediate and effective upgrade. Its tamper-proof tags sound a loud alarm the moment they are interfered with or removed from a product, giving staff the chance to intervene before stock is lost. Since installing the system, Fairweathers has seen a marked reduction in both stock loss and the number of security incidents involving staff.
Mitigating theft risk
A key advantage of Chirp Protect is how it integrates with existing CCTV and staff headset systems. When a Chirp tag alarms, the event can trigger an instant alert to staff headsets and timestamp the exact moment of the attempted theft. This provides a more coordinated and immediate response on the shopfloor and delivers accurate evidence for follow-up investigations and crime reporting. For open, multi-exit environments, this connectivity is proving critical.
Unlike conventional gate-based systems, Chirp Protect requires no bulky floor-mounted gates. Instead, it uses a discreet 14cm cubed hub, making it ideal for garden centres with multiple entrances and open layouts. Items such as gin bottles, candles, soft toys and giftware can now be tagged visibly without needing to be locked away, enhancing the customer experience while deterring thieves.
As well as installing a complete Chirp Protect system to safeguard stock, the company also supplies tags that are compatible with existing RF or AM EAS antennas. This allows retailers to add an extra layer of protection on high-risk products with minimal investment, integrating seamlessly with their current security setup.
Stewarts Garden Centre is also seeing the difference in theft reports. The team has been able to change how high-value alcohol is displayed because of the improved deterrence and reliability of the system:
“One of the biggest changes is that we’ve taken the doors off these glass cabinets and we’ve put tags directly on the alcohol. We didn’t used to do that with the old type of tags because we found that it didn’t put people off. But we have found with Chirp with no doors we’ve had almost no shrinkage. In fact it might be none. We’ve also noticed that we’ve been selling more.”
