Wellworths, a new born phoenix rose from the ashes of Woolworths in March 2009. The Woolworths UK store chain folded in December 2008, and the last of its stores closed in January 2009. When the store in Dorchester re-opened as Wellworths, it gained extensive publicity through all the media worldwide. Established a hundred year ago, ‘Wollies’ has been a household name, held with real affection and recognized internationally.

 

It became apparent a few months after opening that shop lifting was becoming more of a problem and that a CCTV system was now required for the store. Claire Robertson, former manager of the Woolworths store in Dorchester and founder of Wellworths, chose an ACTi CCTV solution supplied and installed by local company BBS Security Systems Ltd. She says, “We looked at three other suppliers of CCTV systems but we weren’t happy with the quality and price until we came across BBS Security Systems with their ACTi solution. The system was installed quickly and efficiently over a weekend. Within two days of the system being installed, we had caught a gang of three shop lifters. The police were able to easily identify them immediately from the superior quality footage.”

 

Robert Power, financial controller says, “It’s the little thing that makes the system easy to use. The live digital zoom, easy playback and easy burning onto discs are very effective. The cameras also have inbuilt microphones so you can hear everything that’s going on in the store. There’s also a choice to attach speakers to the cameras for 2-way communication”

 

BBS Security Systems, based in Dorchester & Bournemouth, are specialist installers of IP (network) & Analogue CCTV systems. After a thorough understanding of Wellworths concerns that during a recession there is a need for more vigilance and security, BBS proposed ACTi IP cameras with ACTi NVR Software. Ten ACM-4201 megapixel cube cameras powered by PoE were deployed throughout the store, recording continuously during daytime opening hours and by motion detection at night. All the video streams were transmitted through CAT5 cables within the LAN network. The excellent picture quality, great low light performance and 2-way audio function have demonstrated that ACTi cameras were a good choice. Moreover, ACTi offers free bundled software but their cameras can be integrated with numerous third party software venders that provide greater options. “They were well worth the money” said Robert Flanagan, BBS Security System’s Managing Director. Further details of BBS can be found at www.bbssecurity.co.uk.

System Architecture