Shrinkage has become an accepted loss figure in cash and carries in common with the independent and multiple retail sectors.Thieves target high value lines such as 70cl and one litre spirits and the more expensive bottles of wine and champagne.

But the FWD Blueprint for Spirits and Fortified Wines' recent retail innovation called PLOD - Putting Leaders On Display - has a cash and carry application too.

Under the PLOD scheme, security caps are fixed to the top of the spirits bottle. These are easily removed by the retailer when the bottle is sold, but the thief needs to smash the bottle to get the cap off.

PLOD enables spirits to be moved from behind the shop counter to open shelves in the shop near the till - and sales have increased.

At Parfetts, shrinkage losses were costing the company £4,000 a year, so caps were fixed to single bottles on display in the cash and carry. Now the company says the system has deterred thieves and losses have decreased.

Blueprint chairman Alan Toft said: "There is a cost to the security caps system and the wholesalers will have to work out this for themselves, according to their size and philosophy, but it's a one-off cost which seems to be worthwhile."

Dave Batt, Blueprint co-ordinator for PLOD, said: "We are pushing ahead with our trials at retail level which enables independents to literally put leaders on display and not hide them on shelves behind the counter."

The trials results are expected to be analysed within weeks.

l For more about Parfetts use of PLOD see page 70.

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