This is the beginning of trade show season for the LP industry. Rhett Asher and the FMI team kicked off the year with their asset protection conference in early March in New Orleans. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time an LP industry event has returned to New Orleans post-Katrina since the March 2005 RILA LP conference. One of the interesting aspects of the FMI event was it took place at the Hyatt Regency hotel complex that had only just reopened in October...six years after Hurricane Katrina. Given that risk management is part of the FMI agenda, hosting…

ORC Conference Draws Large Crowd in Los Angeles   Nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers and retail loss prevention professionals gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center February 16 for an education and networking conference sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Organized Retail Crime Association (LAAORCA).   Setting the Stage Opening remarks by Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley included both good and bad news. “The good news is our crime rate is at a sixty-year low,” he said. However, because of recent legislation know as AB 109 realignment that requires certain state-held prisoners to serve at local facilities, he…

Last year was our tenth anniversary and was a terrific year. You would think that after such a great year, I would experience a letdown. Not so. I'm really looking forward to 2012 just as much. Maybe it's the good sales season retail experienced. It's great to see consumer confidence getting somewhat back to normal. Maybe it's the word on the street that I hear both retailers and solutions providers talking about capital spending and purchasing rebounding. Maybe it's our association partners talking about all the positive developments on the legislative and conference front, not to mention two trips to…

Please indulge me as I mix both personal and professional observations in this article. This year has been a significant year for a number of reasons. At the beginning of the year, we started our tenth year of publication. At the end of the year, I reached a dubious milestone. All this in a year where the economy seemed to rebound...or not...well, maybe. Ten years of publishing LP Magazine has been a privilege and a challenge. We launched our premier issue in September 2001. Despite the economic turmoil that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11th, we successfully built both…

By definition, a niche is (1) a special area of demand for a product or service, or (2) a situation or activity especially suited to a person's interests, abilities, or nature. LP Magazine is an example of a niche publication in that when we started this magazine ten years ago, there was no publication dedicated to the loss prevention industry. With a little research we determined there was an untapped demand for information and educational material on LP topics, which we set out to fill and, hopefully, have successfully done so. The second part of that definition is what I…

April is a great month for me both personally and professionally. Twenty-eight years ago in April I married my best friend and very special lady, Cindy. Ten years ago in April, I committed to another relationship with Jim Lee, and we began work on a very special project—LossPrevention Magazine.

I was invited into a NCAA basketball tournament pool at the last minute with a group of friends who get together every year to watch the tournament. Without much in-depth knowledge of college basketball teams, I knew I didn't have much chance of picking winners. And, I was right. While I did luck into a couple of winners, it made me realize that it takes ongoing observation and study, not just of your favorite team, but of all the teams in the tournament to do well. The same can be said of your success at winning inside your corporation. Like…