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Access Control, Video, Location-Based Tracking and Intrusion. UNIFIED.
Century 21 Building a Proactive Retail Security System, One Store at a Time
A legendary New York City retailer with stores in multiple states,
Century 21 has long recognized the importance of having a strong loss
prevention (LP) program that involved video surveillance using the
most advanced, but also proven, security technology.
CASE SUMMARY
Location: Elizabeth, NJ
System Installed:
American Dynamics Illustra 625 IP PTZ Dome Illustra 610 HD IP Mini-Domes VideoEdge VMS with victor Unified Client
2
Introduction
Century 21 opened its first store in downtown
Manhattan in 1961 and now operates eight stores
across the New York/New Jersey area. The stores are
focused on high-fashion, low-price apparel for women,
men and children, along with cosmetics, handbags,
shoes, lingerie, housewares, luggage and more.
Merchandise can range from less than $10 to more
than $7,000. The newest Century 21 site, which opened
in April 2013, is at Jersey Gardens: The Outlet Center
in Elizabeth, N.J. The largest outlet mall in the state,
Jersey Gardens is also a major tourist attraction,
drawing approximately 18 million visitors a year from
more than 160 countries.
The company’s loss prevention department is
headquartered at its flagship store in Manhattan,
although each store maintains its own LP department
and staff.
Challenges
With each new store opening, Century 21’s loss
prevention department looks to incorporate the latest
technology to enhance the quality of its LP activities.
The brand new Jersey Gardens store, which opened in
April 2013 in an existing mall storefront, presented
Century 21 with the opportunity to explore the transition
to IP cameras from analog as well as discover
additional features that could further reduce shrink as
part of the company’s proactive LP program.
“We like to think we are a leader in technology and in
pushing the envelope,” said James Betesh, Vice
President Loss Prevention, Century 21 Department
Stores. “As a 25-year customer with American
Dynamics and Sensormatic, we trusted them to provide
cutting-edge technology that would perform to our
standards.”
One specific challenge that Century 21 presented to
Tyco Security Product’s American Dynamics brand of
surveillance solutions, along with its systems integrator,
Tyco Integrated Security, was how the company could
address issues of latency that have been associated
with some IP cameras. Latency is a delay between the
movement of the joystick to command the camera and
the camera’s response to the command.
Like most retailers that employ a team of active
surveillance personnel to monitor their facilities,
Century 21 was averse to delays in camera control that
affected their ability to track and monitor situations in
their stores in real time. After evaluating older IP dome
cameras, Century 21 LP personnel found that the delay
between the joystick command and camera movement
was too long to effectively follow specific individuals
around the store.
Solution
Instead, Century 21 chose 10 Illustra 625 IP PTZ Dome
cameras with very low latency for accurate camera
tracking control, allowing Century 21’s surveillance staff
to actively monitor activity in their stores. With the
Illustra 625, the camera moves to position as fast as
512° per second, allowing for active surveillance and
efficient tracking of suspicious behavior.
“We have very proactive LP policies in place to protect
our inventory and guest experience so we needed the
lowest latency and best quality picture from these
domes as possible,” Betesh said.
3
The selection of the Illutra 625 IP PTZ cameras, along
with an additional 34 Illustra 610 HD IP Mini-Domes,
marks a definitive shift for Century 21 from analog to IP-
based surveillance. Along with the IP cameras, the
retailer also implemented the victor video management
system from American Dynamics. Using the victor
unified client, Century 21’s LP staff at Jersey Gardens
is able to view, manage, and control recorded video
from four VideoEdge network video recorders.
Loss Prevention Manager Tyrese Williams, who is the
onsite LP professional at Jersey Gardens, noted that
the IP cameras were an improvement over analog for
several reasons, beginning with the clarity of the
images and the superior zoom-in ability.
“You can access any one of the Illustra cameras we
have installed and still have a crystal clear view,”
explained Williams. Cameras are placed in key
locations so LP staff can actively observe various
activities, such as transactions at the registers
throughout the day. With the new cameras, Williams
said they have the capability to zoom in at the register
“and get the best pictures possible.”
This was the type of activity that was critical in testing
the performance of IP over analog, said Tom Hamlin,
Sales Manager Retail/Manager Professional Services
for Tyco Security Products. "Tests on previous IP PTZ
cameras had not performed to the level that C21
required," he said, "especially with their
uncompromising LP standards." But the i625s, along
with the victor/VideoEdge video management system
(VMS), were able to provide the necessary low latency,
high-quality picture and continuity of image capture that
Century 21 required.
Within the VMS platform, according to Williams, one of
the most appealing features is the speed of the system
for searching recorded video. Video that used to take
as long as four hours to watch can be condensed to just
25 minutes, he said. The VideoEdge metadata
collection and motion search tools are credited with
reducing search and review times. Additionally, the
user friendliness of the system makes it easy to burn
key video onto a CD or DVD, which is an activity
Williams does on a daily basis.
A further advantage of the system is the ability to
access video via an iPad or iPhone, so security
personnel aren’t tied to their desktop or office or even
have to be on-site to monitor and respond to situations.
As part of Century 21’s efforts to continue to innovate
with its LP system, Betesh said they are looking at
analog-to-IP conversions for its other locations,
beginning with the flagship downtown Manhattan site.
That store, which spans more than 200,000 square feet,
also features more than 800 analog cameras.
Store size, layout and design all play a role in the
number and placement of cameras, according to
Betesh. The high ceilings in the Jersey Gardens store
actually allowed for the use of fewer cameras because
each one could cover a wider area.
Converting from analog to IP would certainly be an
investment, acknowledged Betesh, but he sees
opportunities because the system can be used for more
than just loss prevention. “There are a lot of additional
returns on our investment in technology that are
possible, such as tracking shopper behavior that can
improve our guest experience,” he said.
4
By using active surveillance to track shopper
movements, store operators can better position
merchandise and displays, and staff their stores for
both sales and security based on time-of-day analytics.
And while on-site staff are making use of this type of
analysis, Betesh said analytics can also be tied into the
POS system and used by fraud analysts to detect
issues at the cash registers.
With all the new features, plus not losing anything in the
analog-to-IP conversion, Betesh said he sees the long-
term value in continuing with an IP surveillance system
such as victor/VideoEdge that allows Century 21 to
maintain the benefits of analog with the possibilities of
IP video. “As long as we maintain what analog provided
for us, everything else is just gravy,” he said.
www.tycosecurityproducts.com © 2014 Tyco Security Products. All Rights Reserved. AV0000-CS-201304-R01-LT-EN The trademarks, logos, and service marks displayed on this document are registered in the United States [or other countries]. Any misuse of the trademarks is strictly prohibited and Tyco will aggressively enforce its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law, including pursuit of criminal prosecution wherever necessary. All trademarks not owned by Tyco are the property of their respective owners, and are used with permission or allowed under applicable laws. Product offerings and specifications are subject to change without notice. Actual products may vary from photos. Not all products include all features. Availability varies by region; contact your sales representative.