Interviews

Securitas: it’s challenging

by Mark Rowe

The security industry is undergoing an enormous transformation – moving faster than most people realise; and it will move even faster. So says the Swedish-based multi-national Securitas in its 2014 annual report.

After two years of decline, the European security market recovered in 2014, according to the company, which describes itself as ‘ the only truly pan-European security company’. Although the contractor described the trend as ‘slightly positive’, the firm added that the outlook is uncertain; and the market is ‘highly price competitive’ and challenging. In 2014, Securitas’ organic sales growth in its Security Services Europe arm was 2 percent which was less than North America (3pc) although Spain saw a decline still.

As in previous years, the firm stressed how it aims to ‘integrate on-site, remote and mobile guarding services with technology ‘, said the company CEO Alf Goransson, pictured.

He said: “There is a clear trend in the security industry: labour is becoming more expensive and complex, with new rules and regulations every year. Technology is developing fast and becoming less expensive, and in combination with a new generation of high-capacity telecom networks, the transmission of images and videos is becoming more viable and secure. This is enabling us to change our service content and offer better security at a lower or equal cost, which is a critical shift in those countries where salary costs are relatively high. In addition, video analytics and intelligent cameras are enabling us to determine suspicious or dangerous behaviour at an early stage, thereby minimising the risk of business interruption. In short, we can detect potential crime before it happens, and do it more cost-efficiently than before. A pretty good value proposition!”

As for the security services global market, Securitas sees it reaching $149 billion by 2018. “While growth is generally higher in emerging economies, volumes and large contracts are still confined to relatively mature markets,” the annual report said.

Securitas meanwhile has launched its new public websites. New first are the corporate website securitas.com and the Swedish country website securitas.se. The launch of the other Securitas’ country websites will follow during 2015.

Securitas’ new websites, which includes the Corporate website and 43 country-based public websites, are based on the same information structure, have the same look-and-feel and a new graphic design.

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