Commercial property charity shops are experiencing an alarming increase in robberies because they are seen as a “soft target”. Lavish designer clothes are prime targets for thieves.
According to a new study, there has been a 20 per cent growth in robberies over the past two years, up from a projected £4.25m to £5.1m in 2011. The increase compares with a 14 per cent rise in shoplifting in commercial property stores.
Director of the Centre for Retail Research in Nottingham, Professor Joshua Bamfield who led the study, said: “Charities accept there is a problem, bur feel it is a ‘dirty secret’ they don’t want to talk about, as it may affect people’s willingness to donate. Charities, like everybody else, like to talk about good news.”
He further added: “Charities are very heavily run by volunteers, and there is a feeling they may be crossing the line if they expect volunteers to confront shoplifters. They do not want to demoralise, nor divert funds from the causes they support.”
However, charities do not have enough spare cash to invest in anti-theft precautions, as Sarah Thomas, at the Octavia Foundation, said: “Shoplifting is a problem. But we have to keep focused on making money for the charity-we can’t spend significant amounts on CCTV and tagging systems.”
The increase in robberies is also driven by the trend for vintage fashion. An original Chanel bag or Yves Saint Laurent dress innocently hanging in a commercial property charity shop has enormous resale value. “Vintage fashion has increased in popularity, and it can be almost impossible to prove that second-and third-hand goods are stolen,” said author of Shopping and Crime, Professor Bamfield. “The internet site eBay is very careful to try not to sell stolen goods, but it is an important way for people to dispose of their stolen merchandise.”
The Centre for Retail Research visited 150 commercial property charity shops nationwide, and received information from fifty charities. At the Octavia commercial property shop in Kensington, west London, the manager Christina Rosa is resigned to daily robberies. A Barbour jacket worth £90 was stolen from the commercial property store, while a commercial property charity shop nearby lost a pair of Prada boots, worth £350. One Oxfam manager said its London commercial property stores had lost a designer watched valued at £3,500 to thieves. Ms Rosa said: “Shoplifters go for designer labels, such as Ralph Lauren. We have to staple clothes to the mannequins, and display only one shoe from a pair.”
Emma Ashby, at Fara commercial property shop, South Kensington, which donates incomes to orphaned children in Romania, recently had a £500 Moschino dress stolen. She said: “It is getting worse-because of the state of the economy, people are becoming more desperate.”
At the charity shop Living and Giving, in Primrose Hill, North London, which raises money for Save the Children, an Ossie Clark dress was taken from the window display. The former TV presenter Gail Porter, who volunteers in the commercial property shop, has appealed for its return. She said: “Maybe I am naive, but I really didn’t think people had it in them to steal from a charity.”
Charities are trying to make it tougher for thieves. One volunteer at Oxfam’s commercial property store in Jesmond, Newcastle, said: “We lock items for £40 upwards in glass cabinets, or keep them next to us.” Manager Adrian Gardener of a Barnardo’s store in Birmingham said: “It’s usually clothes that are stolen. We have cameras and staff who are vigilant, but it’s very, very difficult. A lot of the time, its people who have nothing, and they’re not trying to do it to make money.”
Charities urge people to continue to give their cast-offs because the money raised is central to their work. Director of retail at Save the Children, Chris Coe, said: “Sadly, there are rare incidents when items have been stolen from the shop floor. This action takes away life-saving help for the most vulnerable children across the world and is deeply saddening.”
