Thieves steal £1,700 worth of clothes from boutique as staff watch on helplessly

Staff at a clothing store were forced to watch on helplessly as brazen thieves stole £1,700 worth of garments.

CCTV footage shows how two women wearing caps enter a Jovonna London store carrying several large shopping bags at around 3.30pm.

Two female staff members become suspicious and attempt to close the door, but a man steps in front of the entrance and, according to the owner, tells them ‘Don’t you dare’.

The thieves then stuff pieces of clothing into their bags, even pulling two £750 coats from the shop’s mannequins, before leaving.

Owner, Jojo, who has four clothing shops in London, including in Marylebone and Notting Hill, said there had been a spate of shoplifting incidents at the stores in recent years.

This, however, was the most extreme, she told the Daily Mail, and felt like a ‘targeted’ attack as the thieves appeared to know what items they wanted and where they were.

She explained that her staff suspected they were stealing stuff and went to close the door, which was when they were faced with the man

‘They got intimidated and very scared so they literally went back to the till to let them do their robbery,’ Jojo said.

‘They took their time to select the size of clothes, pick up the most expensive pieces on the top floor take them off and then they quickly exit the shop and my staff followed them to the door but they didn’t chase them.’

In total the gang stole £1,775 worth of stock, including the two £750 jackets and a £100 handbag. 

Jojo said there had been thefts at all her shops and that they happen around once every six weeks.

In total she estimated around £10,000 worth of clothing and accessories have has been taken.

She decided to share the latest theft on social media due to the apparent targeted nature of the robbery, and how threatened staff were made to feel.

Jojo has begun telling her staff not to get involved if they notice anyone stealing from the shops as she doesn’t want their safety risked.

‘In a previous incident when we got our shoplifted one of my staff actually ran two blocks and caught the shoplifter,’ she said.

‘But I told them to never ever do that again and to just let them take the stock. People’s safety and awareness welfare is the most important.’

She said she’s disappointed in the apparent lack of support from local police, who she feels don’t take shoplifting seriously.

Jojo feels there are no consequences for those who target small businesses.

She added that she understood the force has limited resources and they can’t attend every low level crime, but would like to hear that something is being done to tackle shoplifting.

The shop owner has now decided to no longer stock high-value merchandise in the Marylebone store, in the hope thieves don’t think it’s worth taking ‘tops for £16 and coats for £100’.

She said employing security staff is not an option as it’s took expensive.

The theft happened in October and was reported to the Metropolitan Police, who apparently said they would pay a visit to speak to staff.

Jojo said no one has visited so far.

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