Carrefour Chooses Checkpoint To Protect Its Profits

Europe's biggest retailer Carrefour has signed a strategic agreement with Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP), the global leader in product identification and shrink management solutions, to roll-out the world's most ambitious "source tagging" program to reduce losses including customer and staff theft.

Carrefour's strategy to protect merchandise at the point of manufacture, will tap into Checkpoint's global network and provide the benchmark for other global retailers who collectively lost euro 32 billion to shrinkage last year (Source: European Retail Theft Barometer No 5 published by the Centre for Retail Research).

The eight-figure deal is a giant step forward for Checkpoint's Radio Frequency (RF) source tagging programme, as it creates a controlled and consistent environment for Carrefour's product protection worldwide.

The protection of merchandise at the point of manufacture frees up retail staff time by providing "shelf-ready" protected items straight to stores, making it more difficult for shoplifters and dishonest staff to steal.

The agreement will also see Checkpoint's Digital RF technology being installed in all 179 Carrefour's hypermarkets in France. RF is rapidly becoming standard technology across Europe. This move will help all retailers improve product flows and effectively combat shoplifting which represented a loss more than euro 5 billion in France alone, according to the fifth edition of the European Retail Theft Barometer published in September 2005.

Checkpoint Systems will supply 7,800 third-generation digital RF antennas and 8,300 new-generation CP IX deactivators and scanners for checkout counters. To optimize shrink management, the company will also deploy 179 CheckPro Manager software suites and the accompanying remote-maintenance application. The implementation programme should be completed by the end of 2007.

With this strategy, Carrefour will have one programme and one technology across the group to more efficiently fight company-wide losses. Close Global cooperation with Carrefour's offices in Hong-Kong and China, should help speed deployment of the source tagging programme worldwide. The CheckPro Manager Web-enabled shrink management information system and remote- maintenance will ensure the highest possible performance across Carrefour.

The "most ambitious" source tagging program in the world
Along with equipping its stores, Carrefour is launching the most ambitious source tagging programme in the world with RF EAS (electronic article surveillance) labels integrated into products at the point of manufacturing. The programme has the highest priority and will cover theft-sensitive articles including apparel, multimedia, alcoholic beverages, etc- from both private labels and global brands.

Source tagging helps retailers respond to consumers' increasingly high expectations for product presentation, speed to shelf and shelf availability.

"We needed to shift to RF technology to develop source tagging, facilitate the consumer's shopping experience and improve speed to shelf," said Jean- Claude Coutant, manager of the source tagging project for Carrefour Hyper France's non-food supply chain. "Now we've got a skilled and committed partner to help us develop our program."

Bernard Theobald of the Perifem retailers' technical association, noted: "All retailers would like to see greater use of source tagging. Perifem will set up working groups on this topic to support source tagging, which will expand in France and the rest of Europe, notably with the momentum generated by Carrefour."

"This decision from Carrefour Group is strategically important for other leading retailers," declared Per Levin, President of Checkpoint Systems Europe. "Suppliers of consumer goods and retailers now have the opportunity to develop winning strategies together, to sell more and lose less."

About Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
Checkpoint Systems Inc. is the global leader in product identification and shrink management solutions for the retail industry and its supply chain. Checkpoint's services are aiming at increasing sales and protect the profit of its customers. Listed on the NYSE, Checkpoint operates in every geographic market and employs more than 4,000 personnel worldwide. It specializes in source protection of consumer goods, RF EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and merchandising solutions. A strategic platform for the source tagging service (CheckNet) is the global network for just in time delivery of critical information and protection applied on products at the point of manufacturing. For more information, please visit www.checkpointsystems.com or www.checkpointeurope.com.