"When men do come in they are engaged in the products but these guys looked like they were scoping out the shop and I thought I would go out to let them know there are two of us.
"Had I known the young girl was out at the rack . . . but they had blocked the entrance way, so had I wanted to go out there I don't think they would have let me out."
She said a female accomplice took a $400 leather jacket from a footpath clothing rack.
Video of the men in the shop was posted to the Havelock North Business Association's Facebook page Love Havelock North.
She said Hastings District Council video surveillance would be reviewed and hopefully identify the thief.
"Normally we don't put jackets outside - it was just simple human error. I don't think we have leather jackets on sale - they were just put on the wrong rack and put outside."
She said Bonjour was "the most reasonably-priced shop in the village" and the jacket was its most expensive item.
Shoplifting was a very rare at the business and both she and the shop assistant were shaken.
Havelock North Business Association president Milton Naylor said he was saddened by the crime which occurred after the jacket was put out by accident.
"At the end of the day the wrong opportunist saw it."
However, the association had been working on a project that he hoped would help in these situations.
"We've been working now for the last three weeks in Havelock North with the local police, retailers and Hastings District Council to come up with a complete electronic footprint of Havelock North which will be finished soon."
This footprint would have security and other information on it to help businesses work together to see where security strengths and weaknesses were in the village, he said.
"The end result will identify the black spots where CCTV is needed."
This will also help when a major crime occurs, such as the robbery of Big Barrel liquor store in May.
They had already identified some areas where extra security cameras were needed following the May robbery.
Already after the jacket theft, a shop owner had planned to look at their security camera when he got into work this morning and knew what to look for to help identify the offender.
The initiative was based around each business working together and sharing information to help each other out and the village as a whole.
Another safety drive, which was developed following the Big Barrel incident, was the implementation of an ambassador for every street, he said.
The first thing Ms Stone did after calling the police following the jacket theft was call her street ambassador who contacted Mr Naylor.
It was important to have one person responsible for and represent each area, he said.
"We've lifted up the networking aspect."
People with information on the jacket theft can contact the Eastern District Police on (06) 831 0700, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Bonjour.