2023-09-18 14:56:31
Should we see this as the consequence of an increase in theft from stores, due to the inflation of food products? Although there are no figures to demonstrate this (as we recently explained in this article), it appears in any case that the store security business is doing well. This is evidenced by the accounts of the Thoonsen Trading company, which specializes in the anti-theft ring market.
At the close of its financial results at the end of September, this small family SME established since 2004 in Châteauroux (Indre) recorded a 20% increase in its turnover (12 million euros). «The stores with which we work the most are seeing a surge in theft at self-service checkouts, popular since the health crisis by older and younger people alike. observes Jacky Thoonsen, the CEO of the company which employs 45 employees.
“Today, the person who steals is an average customer”
Its flagship product, the Cercol, an anti-theft accessory attached to the neck of bottles, represents 80% of its sales, or more than 100,000 copies per month. «Stores are starting to protect trays of meat, for example, but this remains very marginal compared to alcohol, which remains the range of products with the highest added value. he admits.
In his eyes, these accessories are objects of “deterrence”, intended for «people who could have a moment of weakness in front of a tempting product.” All the more effective, according to him, as professional networks are less active today in mass distribution than around ten years ago.. “Most of the time, the person who steals is an average customer. Not to resell the products but for your own consumption. »
In this segment of activity, Chinese competition is fierce. Only innovation allows it to carve out a place among the dominant market players in France and abroad, in around thirty countries from England to Bulgaria to Mexico and Colombia.
An anti-theft ring for powdered milk
Thoonsen has just obtained a European patent for an anti-theft ring dedicated to powdered milk cans. “We have the first requests in France for these accessories that brands like Tesco in England were asking us for. We immediately had to find solutions that adapt to all the formats of boxes sold in stores,” he observes.
Listening to the bosses of small supermarkets, who express their concerns, Jacky Thoonsen denies being a crisis “profiteer”. “Their margins are falling dangerously in a context of strong competition. If theft – also called shrinkage – increases too much, the closure of stores is at stake. underlines the future president of the Indre Chamber of Commerce.
Its good financial results are also, in his eyes, profitable for the country’s economy: «I am proud to pay €2,200 in social charges per day and to contribute to the development of public services. »
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