Old Railway Garden Centre
Video Case Study

How The Old Railway Line Garden Centre Defeated Tag Removal & Safeguarded High-Risk Brands

Independent garden centres frequently face persistent shoplifting targeting high-resale brands like Yeti, Lego, Yankee Candle, clothing, and garden chemicals. At The Old Railway Line Garden Centre in Mid Wales, thieves were bypassing standard security systems by cutting tags off or using magnets to remove them in hidden store areas. By adopting Chirp Protect's pressure-sensitive tags, intelligent IT sound enhancers, and multi-hub perimeter protection, the team eliminated dead zones and successfully stopped shoplifters in their tracks.

Katy Eckley - Operations Director

Katy Eckley

Operations Director

Old Railway Line Garden Centre

Verified Retailer Success

“Adding Chirp was a no-brainer for us. When all the effort the team puts in is lost to theft, it really hurts. It was worth every penny.”

Jump to key moments in the video:
  • — The struggle with conventional tags cut off or removed using magnets
  • — Using pressure-sensitive tamper tags on curved glass and Yeti bottles
  • — Protecting vulnerable restrooms and rear exits with Chirp Edge Hubs
  • — IT Boxes amplifying alarms in high-risk areas where staff aren't always present
  • — Smart tagging strategies: Why you don't need to tag every item on the shelf
  • — Real incident: Abandoned Roundup concentrate bottles prove deterrence works

The Old Railway Line Garden Centre in Mid Wales is an award-winning, family-run independent garden centre. Despite having a legacy tagging system in place, the team was seeing consistent losses across premium branded merchandise including Yeti drinkware, Lego, Yankee Candles, Tony's Chocolonely, jewellery, and high-value weedkillers.

The Challenge: Finding Removed Tags on the Shop Floor

Thieves were actively defeating old-fashioned security measures by carrying tools or magnets onto the shop floor to remove tags entirely before heading to the exit.

“People were cutting tags or using magnets to remove them completely so they wouldn't set the alarm off on exit. Finding these tags removed on the floor at the end of the day was quite disheartening for the team.”
Katy Eckley, Operations Director 0:32 in Video

The Solution: Pressure-Sensitive Tags & Intelligent Hubs

To overcome awkward packaging shapes like smooth Yeti flasks and glass jars, the team deployed Chirp’s pressure-sensitive active tags. The moment anyone attempts to tamper with or peel off a tag, an instant alert triggers on the spot.

“The new pressure-sensitive tags we use on glass jars and Yeti bottles are brilliant—they are so easy to attach and remove for the team, and they activate quite easily by any tamper.”
Katy Eckley, Operations Director 1:12 in Video

Eliminating Concealment Dead Zones

To prevent thieves from hiding tagged items in restrooms or ducking out secondary rear doors, Chirp Edge Hubs were positioned strategically above toilet entryways and secondary exits to sound immediate warnings the second a tagged item approaches.

“If someone tampers with a tag, the tag immediately alerts, triggering the IT box to amplify the alert and draw attention to the incident... especially where staff may not always be present.”
Katy Eckley, Operations Director 2:09 in Video

Proven Deterrence in Action

The system’s proactive nature quickly proved its worth when large bottles of expensive Roundup concentrate were found abandoned in the aisle with the tag alarm sounding—proving the thief was forced to leave empty-handed.

“We discovered bottles of large Roundup concentrate that had been abandoned with the alarm sounding. We can only assume that noise deterred the theft from happening in the first place and prevented it.”
Katy Eckley, Operations Director 3:22 in Video
“With all the other costs mounting, taking every step we can to reduce loss is really important. Adding Chirp was a bit of a no-brainer... it was worth every penny.”
Katy Eckley, Operations Director 3:32 in Video