Lejose Fashion House in Newmarket was broken into twice in two days, and thieves made off with luxury items including hangbags and clothing. Photo / Supplied
Lejose Fashion House in Newmarket was broken into twice in two days, and thieves made off with luxury items including hangbags and clothing. Photo / Supplied
The owners of a fashion store in Newmarket say they have considered closing their business for good after two break-ins in two days.
Lejose Fashion House on Teed St in Newmarket was broken into around 7am both yesterday morning and this morning.
The thieves made off with a large number of expensive items including sunglasses, handbags, shoes and clothing by brands such as Armani and Jimmy Choo.
"This is my livelihood," said owner Christine Davis, who had opened the store in Mairangi Bay in 1991 and moved to Newmarket three years ago. "And this is about ready to cripple us."
The store was boarded up this morning after a second burglary. Photo / Dean Purcell
She believed the same people were responsible for both break-ins, which were captured on CCTV. They appeared to know the movements of staff and the security at the store, she said.
On Sunday morning, the thieves arrived in a car, smashed a front window and made off with some items before a security guard arrived.
The window was boarded up yesterday. But this morning, a group arrived in a different car and a person broke in again with a device which was designed to shatter glass.
Police were called and the Eagle helicopter flew over the area to track the suspects.
A police spokeswoman said police were notified about the break-in just after 7am. Officers had taken statements from witnesses but no suspects had been found.
Davis said the break-ins came after a difficult period for the retail industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. A fall in income meant she was no longer able to afford a staff member, which left her feeling less secure.
"I'm ready to shut my door," she said. "I've been in my store 31 years and I've never seen so much [crime]. I'm really fed up.
"But I will keep going," she added. "I've been in this business too long to let these things run you down."
She said luxury fashion stores appeared to be common targets, and that she felt break-ins and shoplifting had increased since New Zealand came out of the first lockdown in 2020.
"When I first moved in three years ago it was lovely, lovely, lovely. But it's just got more and more of a disgrace. We're just over it. It's just got so bad here, it's happening all the time."
The destroyed door lock. Photo / Dean Purcell
Last week, luxury clothing stores Gucci and Louis Vuitton in downtown Auckland were targeted in an apparent ram-raid in the middle of the night. It was the second incident in a matter of weeks, a staff member said.
Newmarket Business Association CEO Mark Knoff-Thomas said retail burglaries appeared to start rising around two years ago.
There had been a "marked increase" in raids on luxury stores, he said, and thieves were more organised, often stealing to order.
His organisation had raised the problem with the Police Minister at the time, but he acknowledge that police resources had been stretched by the pandemic.
He was now hoping for action, in particular more police resources in Newmarket and more support for the large number of people in emergency housing.
Knoff-Thomas said the establishment of a dedicated retail crime unit was promising, and that it could not get under way soon enough. It was scheduled to begin operations this month.
After a series of incidents in Newmarket, Davis said she had started locking the door during daytime hours and controlling who could enter the shop. It was disappointing to "hide in my own store", she said.
She and her husband were now doing a stocktake to calculate their losses, which they hoped would be covered by insurance. They were also trying to upgrade their security measures.
"They will come back again," she said. "What I am supposed to do, sleep in my shop?"
