Celebrating 20 Years of Providing Retail Security Systems

This year, we at Tagmax are celebrating our 20^th year of providing high-quality retail security systems. Since 1997, we have been providing Retailers, Home Owners, Restaurants, Schools and Hotels with a means of effectively protecting their properties with the latest in security technology.

Our longevity in the industry has been achieved thanks to us keeping pace with the latest changes and trends in security technology. We can now confidentially say that 2017 represents an ideal time to take advantage of security systems that, thanks to their qualities, are now able to provide a more cost-effective security solution than ever before. Not only can you protect your products with high-quality security tagging systems, but also monitor the entirety of your store with ultra high-definition images produced by the latest CCTV camera technology.

Not Just Retail Security Systems: The Events of 1997.

During our time in the industry, we have seen many things change – and that's not just the vast increase in technology that can provide retailers with the best retail security systems on the market! So what else happened in 1997? Here are some of the events that occurred during our inaugural year in business, that may (or may not!) remind you of that particular time:

• New Labour: A New Era. For the first time in 18 years, the UK was governed by the Labour Party after one of the country's most remarkable general election results in history. Led by left-centrist Tony Blair, this 'New Labour' swept aside John Major's Conservative Party by a landslide – gaining 145 seats. The change in government was seen by many as a positive move for the country at the time and this remarkable upturn in votes paved the way for the party to govern the country for the next 13 years.

• The Death of Princess Diana. The world was in mourning on the morning of 31^st August 1997 as a car that was carrying Diana, Princess of Wales crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, whilst trying to avoid the attentions of the paparazzi. Of the three others that were in the car – Diana's partner Dodi Fayed, driver Henri Paul and bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, only Rees-Jones survived in what was one of the most shocking incidents of the decade. Broadcast all over the world, the funeral was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people – near-enough half of the world's population at the time, such was the popularity of the Princess.

• The Handover of Hong Kong. After 156 years of British rule, the autonomous colony of Hong Kong was 'returned' to China in a landmark moment that was seen as the end of what was the British Empire. The deal was struck in 1898 during the Second Convention of Peking, which effectively saw the islands 'leased' for 99 years by the British and after further discussions in the 1970's, they were handed back on schedule. Present at the ceremony was Prince Charles, new Prime Minister Tony Blair, the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Pattern and Chinese President, Jiang Zemin.

• British Music: The Pinnacle of Britpop. 1997 proved to be one of the last bastions of the popular 'Britpop' era of the 1990's, underlined by 20 straight weeks of No1 albums from rock-orientated British acts including Radiohead, The Prodigy, Texas, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and The Verve. Indeed, Oasis' third album released in late August saw it sell over 600,000 copies within the first week of its release – the first day alone saw it shift over 400,000 copies, making it the fastest-selling British album in history.

• The Publication of Harry Potter. September 1997 saw the publication of Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone – the first in a series of novels by JK Rowling that would number 6 more instalments within the next decade. The books would go on to be adapted to film and earn billions. The story, charting the life of a boy wizard, his friends and the magical realm that they inhabit, was an instant success with young readers; Rowling signing international book deals just a matter of months after its publication in the UK. The series has been credited with reigniting the apparent downturn in children reading books and after Rowling signed a film deal in 1999, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone was produced and released as a feature length film two years later, further expanding the brand worldwide.

• Dolly The Sheep. 1997 was the year of a major scientific breakthrough; although born in July 1996, it wasn't until February 1997 that the birth of Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned, was announced publicly. She was created at The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh from three mothers – one providing the egg, another provided DNA whilst a third carried Dolly as an embryo. Living out all her life at the Institute, Dolly would go on to breed with a Welsh Mountain ram and birth six healthy lambs. Although Dolly died aged 6 in 2003 from a common lung defect, there were other clones of Dolly created and all are to date, still alive. The process helped to refine the process of cloning and in the years since, has helped to produce a number of other common farmyard animal clones, which scientists believe could work to solving the world's food shortage. Other aspects that could realistically transpire from the experiment include the potential to bring back previously extinct animals back to life, even the possibility to clone healthy, human tissue to treat a number of degenerative diseases.

The Changes In Retail Security.

Whilst in 1997, retail security systems such as CCTV cameras and tagging systems provided an effective enough deterrent against crime, the quality of monitoring that they produced didn't always offer a perfect solution in preventing issues such as theft. Images often didn't provide a clear indication of a perpetrator and security tags could easily be removed. As the time has gone on, much improvement has been made in regards to the quality of technology. CCTV cameras are now able to record crystal-clear, high-definition images that can identify any and every aspect of an area in which it's monitoring. Whilst in 1997, VHS and other types of cassette tapes were the common method for storing CCTV images, today's world can see those HD images sent via the internet to an off-site storage facility – even your laptop, tablet or Smartphone with which you can watch the images live.

In terms of tagging systems, whilst security tags in 1997 offered an effective enough solution in setting off the alarm of a store as a product was taken through their field of monitoring; the physical tags could often be removed with simple hand tools and even by specialist removal tools, which were sought after by 'professional' shoplifters. Modern tagging systems can offer a better tracking system (the tags can be sensed from a further distance), can be used on a wider range of products and are utterly unique – the remover used by stores carry a code that is exclusive to them, so only their device is able to remove the tags.

Throughout the last 2 decades, we have been delighted to be able to offer all manner of retailers the benefits that high-quality retail security systems can bring. So here's to another 20 years!

Keep Your Store Safe With Tagmax.

With modern security systems providing such crucial coverage for retailers, there has never been a better time to think about improving the security in your store. If you would like further information on our retail security systems installation service, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us today. You can call our customer support team on 0800 044 3160 or send an e-mail to sales@tagmax.co.uk.