Flash Flooding Causes a Retail Security Crisis in Valencia and Barcelona
The Situation
Southern Spain recently experienced unprecedented flash flooding that ripped through residential and commercial buildings leaving them exposed and vulnerable to theft and looting.
Titan Security Europe was approached by several of the big-brand retailers on our client list to provide emergency security guarding to secure valuable stock in their retail stores from potential looting during the catastrophe.
The requests for emergency security came in from:
- Sports Direct
- JD Sports
- Footlocker
What We Did
We dispatched guards to both Sports Direct and Footlocker in Valencia.
Originally, the clients requested only one guard per store – but due to the large size of the Sports Direct store, we suggested two guards to this client, which they accepted.
The guards reached both stores within two hours of dispatch despite major disruption on their travels due to the flooding. On reaching the sites the guards were all turned away and denied entry by the police patrolling the areas.
To rectify this, we liaised with the police and our clients the following morning. We deployed guards to the sites again, this time in company vans as proof of who they were. This time our guards gained entry to secure the sites.
We have continued to successfully guard these sites on a 24/7 basis.
What Came Next
Following our successful protection of stores in Valencia, Sports Direct approached us about their Barcelona site.
Forecasts were predicting that Barcelona might see the same type of deluge and flooding that Valencia had suffered through. As a result, opportunist gangs were already making their way through the city looking for unguarded stores
Knowing our services and trusting us, we were asked to guard the Sports Direct store in Barcelona at short notice. Our guard was deployed and at the store within thirty minutes.
We continue to provide overnight guarding in Barcelona during non-trading hours.
