Industry Intelligence

Why luxury retail security demands a higher standard.

Stop Following Security Standards. Set New Ones.

By Angel Gutierrez, Director of Operation, Securit

“We refuse to follow standards. We decided we were going to set new ones.”

That is not a marketing slogan. It was a direct response to what I continue to see across retail markets in New York City, Miami, and beyond.

The contract security industry has become comfortable operating at a baseline that is far too low.

Too many providers believe staffing a post with a uniform and a clipboard fulfills the assignment. Too many retailers — including some that should know better — have accepted inconsistency, poor presentation, weak training, and reactive service as simply “part of the business.”

It does not have to be like that.

Speaking as someone who spent more than three decades on the retail side before embarking on my new journey with Securit, I believe many LP executives are letting providers off too easily.

When I was the client, I would clearly communicate expectations, operational standards, and brand requirements — and still receive something entirely different at store level. What was promised, rarely matched what arrived at the site.

I lived that frustration firsthand.

So did Tony Caccioppoli during his years leading department store asset protection teams as Vice President of Asset Protection. That shared frustration is one of the reasons we joined Securit.

If you are an LP executive reading this and recognize the same pattern, my challenge is simple:

Stop tolerating it.

Hold your provider accountable to the officer — not just the contract.

A contract defines a service level on paper. The officer defines the experience your customers, employees, and leadership teams actually see every day. If the officer lacks professionalism, awareness, communication skills, or brand alignment, the contract itself becomes meaningless.

Every assignment review should begin with two questions:

• Who is standing at the post?
• Are they truly representing your brand and the standards you expect?

Your stores are not interchangeable. Your security officers should not be either.

Luxury retail, flagship environments, high-profile locations, and customer-centric brands require personnel who understand more than physical presence. They must understand presentation, discretion, situational awareness, customer interaction, and brand protection simultaneously.
That level of service is achievable.
The current state of contract security is not fixed. It is simply the standard the industry has collectively allowed itself to accept.
Providers can do better.
Retailers can demand better.
And the moment expectations rise, the industry rises with them.
Securit was built around that philosophy, but the larger point extends far beyond us.
Whoever your provider is, ask more of them.
They will either rise to the expectation — or reveal exactly who they are.