Why are garden centres becoming a target for organised shoplifting?

Unlike opportunist theft, organised retail crime is highly selective. Offenders target products that are easy to conceal, simple to resell and in high demand.

Brands such as Jellycat, Yeti, Barbour and Lego have become frequent targets because they retain strong resale value and are popular on online marketplaces.

For many garden centres, these premium brands have become an important part of their retail offering. Unfortunately, they have also become some of the most vulnerable.

The challenge with traditional retail security

Garden centres present unique security challenges.

Large stores often have multiple entrances and exits, outdoor retail areas, cafés, restaurants and concession spaces. At the same time, customers expect an open, relaxed shopping experience where products can be picked up and examined freely.

Traditional Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems continue to play an important role in protecting stores, but many retailers are recognising that not every product requires the same level of protection.

Instead, the focus is shifting towards protecting the products most likely to be stolen.

A layered approach to garden centre security

Rather than replacing existing EAS systems, many retailers are adopting a layered security strategy.

This means maintaining existing store-wide protection while adding enhanced security for selected high-risk products.

By concentrating additional protection on premium brands and frequently stolen items, retailers can significantly reduce losses without creating barriers for genuine customers.

As Ant Golden from Chirp Protect explains:

"The challenge isn't protecting every product in the store. It's identifying the relatively small number of products responsible for the majority of stock loss and giving those items the additional protection they need."

Real-world results

One retailer successfully using this approach is Squire's Garden Centres.

Following a trial protecting Jellycat products with Chirp Protect, theft on the protected lines fell to zero in the pilot stores. Following the success of the trial, the solution was rolled out across all eight garden centres.

Importantly, Squire's continues to use its existing EAS infrastructure to protect the wider store. Chirp Protect simply adds another layer of protection for products that present the greatest theft risk.

Protecting products without affecting the customer experience

One of the biggest concerns for retailers is introducing security measures that make shopping less enjoyable.

Customers still want to browse, compare products and make purchasing decisions naturally.

A targeted security strategy helps maintain this balance by protecting only those products that genuinely require additional security. The rest of the store remains open and accessible, preserving the shopping experience while reducing stock loss.

The future of garden centre loss prevention

As garden centres continue to diversify into premium retail categories, targeted theft prevention is becoming an increasingly important part of loss prevention.

Rather than relying on a single security solution, more retailers are combining existing EAS systems with intelligent protection for their most vulnerable products. This layered approach helps reduce shrinkage, protect concession partners and improve profitability without compromising the customer experience.

If you'd like to see how Chirp Protect helps garden centres protect brands such as Jellycat, Yeti and Barbour, get in touch to arrange a demonstration or visit us at GLEE to see the system in action.