Kirkland’s improves loss prevention with smart cameras

A struggling home décor retailer is upgrading its in-store video surveillance system.

Kirkland’s has chosen Hanwha security cameras in an effort to improve security and business operations across hundreds of stores in the U.S. After evaluating its security solutions, the company determined a need to upgrade the analog video surveillance systems in use at existing locations and plan for new stores.
 
According to Kirkland’s, the analog video surveillance cameras that were in place were acceptable, but the retailer desired cameras with wider coverage and better resolution. The amount of time it took to investigate incidents for loss prevention (LP) and personal injury claims also frustrated the LP department. 

Each time LP personnel were called to investigate an incident, such as vandalism, theft, employee misconduct, a slip and fall, or a cut from broken merchandise, each individual store had to extract the footage from the analog DVR at that location and send it to loss prevention at Kirkland’s headquarters.
 
Kirkland’s sought an IP-based solution that could be accessed remotely that would make the LP investigation process more efficient, with a camera and analytics capability, and that provided a clear picture while minimizing bandwidth usage. Working with several systems integrators, Kirkland’s chose to deploy an IP video surveillance solution consisting of Hanwha video surveillance cameras managed by Salient Enterprise Video Management Software (VMS).
 
The first phase of the security upgrade included the deployment of 1,800 Hanwha Wisenet X series XNV-6011 2 megapixel HD dome cameras and Wisenet Lite vandal-resistant dome cameras at 200 Kirkland’s locations, as well as the distribution center and the e-commerce building. As Kirkland’s builds new stores, it will include the Hanwha-Salient security solution. The company expects to have a full migration to IP at all locations by 2021.
 
Each Kirkland’s location is outfitted with approximately eight cameras that are positioned to capture the entrance, the sales floor and the back of house operations. The LP team is able to pull recorded video from any camera via the Salient VMS, rather than wait for information to be extracted from an analog DVR. Hanwha’s device manager tool enables LP staff to troubleshoot and resolve any camera issues remotely first, rather than sending out a service technician.

“The wide-angle capability – as well as the quality of the camera – is really what sold us on Hanwha,” said Saraya Charlton, loss prevention investigator, Kirkland’s. “We are getting the best views possible and they are allowing us to see the entire sales floor which is exactly what we wanted and needed.”

Kirkland’s is upgrading in-store LP capabilities as it makes permanent job cuts and is in discussions with landlords to defer or waive rent while its stores remain closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The retailer, which was struggling before the pandemic, also has accelerated ongoing negotiations with landlords on potential closures of unprofitable stores in addition to the 27permanent store shutterings that it completed in the first quarter of 2020.

Kirkland’s operates over 400 stores in 37 states.