- "The girl gangs seem very well organised, know which
bags they want to steal, and do so with an arrogance that is something
to behold."
-
-
- Gangs of young girls are targeting designer boutiques
in London and stealing thousands of pounds worth of goods. Groups of between
two to 10 girls at a time shoplifted from a dozen designer boutiques in
Chelsea, Holland Park and Bond Street in October and November last year.
-
- Stores attacked include Anya Hindmarch, the accessories
designer, Liza Bruce, the clothes designer, and The Cross, the exclusive
Holland Park boutique. The designers believe that the girls and young women
may be stealing to order, a practice previously popular for status designer
labels such as Gucci and Prada.
-
- The Metropolitan Police said that officers in Chelsea
and Knightsbridge were aware of the problem and were devising new methods
to help protect fashion boutiques. "The incidents have been noted,
and measures will be implemented later this year," said a spokesman.
-
- Four girls stole handbags worth thousands of pounds from
Anya Hindmarch, the exclusive handbag and shoe designer, in Chelsea, west
London, in October last year.
-
- The well-dressed shoplifters, in their teens and early
twenties, distracted staff and aggressively ordered the shop girls to fetch
them shoes and bags. Meanwhile, one of their number had hidden eight hand-made
leather handbags into a Chanel bag that she carried.
-
- Ms Hindmarch, a nominee for the British Designer of the
Year award and a friend of Jemima Khan and Sadie Frost, said: "These
girls are sent into our shops, work closely together and know exactly how
to distract the staff before leaving the shop with a bag full of merchandise.
-
- "The girl gangs seem very well organised, know which
bags they want to steal, and do so with an arrogance that is something
to behold," she said.
-
- Managers at The Cross, a boutique in Holland Park popular
with such stars as Nicole Kidman, Liv Tyler and Kate Hudson, said that
it had been targeted on a number of occasions over the last year by female
shoplifters.
-
- Sara Lauchlan, the sales manager, said: "It used
to be designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci that were at risk.
Those girls, the type that would target Selfridges, would stick out like
a sore thumb in our shop.
-
- "Today our problem is with middle-class women who
are more savvy. They specialise: most people wouldn't necessarily recognise
the names of all our designers. Our range is highly coveted as often there
are only a few of each piece in existence."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/02/0
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