Coveted Inventory Causes Problems

Hibbett, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a leading athletic-inspired fashion retailer with over 1,100 stores under the Hibbett, City Gear and Sports Additions banners, primarily located in underserved communities. Founded in 1945, Hibbett has a rich history of convenient locations, personalized customer service, and access to coveted footwear, apparel, and equipment from top brands like Nike, Jordan, and Adidas. Their stores are frequently targeted by thieves who steal inventory by breaking storefront glass doors and windows, grabbing inventory, and running.

Glass is the Achilles’ Heel of Storefront Security

Hibbett | City Gear knew that frequent smash-and-grab incidents caused significant shrink, an uneasy work environment for employees, and could tarnish their brand reputation. “We needed to prevent thieves from being able to gain access through our storefronts’ weakest point, glass, while also maintaining our attractive storefront branding” states Jennifer Hill, Senior Manager of Property Management,  Hibbett | City Gear. “That’s why we turned to NGS.”

Improved Storefront Security and Branding at the Same Time

When NGS installed Riot Glass® at their store in Atlanta, Georgia during the height of the 2020 civil unrest, looters commented that they would be attempting a breach that night. Indeed, they did, but to their surprise, they were unable to penetrate the storefront and were denied access despite how hard they tried or what blunt objects they used.

Hibbett was thrilled by the immediate proof of concept, and worked with NGS to employ a tiered approach to storefront security: installing a combination of TRI-SHIELD® and Riot Glass® in over 300 of their stores based on store location, threat level, and various other strategic factors.

Simultaneously, Hibbett partnered with NGS to install custom-printed vinyl graphics, mullion wraps, and storefront graphics to build their brand. Not only do their stores delay or deny unwanted access from intruders, but they are the highest quality branding to attract customers and deliver consistent customer experience.

“Being able to stop criminals from accessing our stores through glass is a huge accomplishment for us,” states Hill. “Our brand is back in business and better than ever thanks to NGS.”