Holiday shopping is in full swing as Christmas quickly approaches. While making sure the shelves are stocked and customers find everything they need should be the focus of local boutique owner, Olivia Konrad, unfortunately this week her attention has been diverted. Rossi Oliver boutique, located on the court square in Benton, was one of two local businesses to fall victim to alleged thefts this week. Konrad now wants to make other business owners in the area aware of what has taken place so that they can take precautions to protect their merchandise as well.
Konrad explains that two teenage girls came into the store and quickly began complimenting the girl working that day. Shortly after one girl asked her to personally show her where the restroom was leaving the other girl in the front of the store alone. When they were ready to try on clothes they declined the employees offer to help them to the dressing room with their items. Unable to find what they were looking for that day, the employee suggested they try Jaded Layne boutique that recently opened in Draffenville. After the girls left the, several empty hangers were found among the racks in the store and the employee realized what had taken place. After checking inventory, Konrad and the employee were able to determine the items that were missing. It wasn’t long before they received a call from Jaded Layne that they had been hit as well.
As the stores began to try to piece together what had happened, Konrad says she pulled up one of the girls’ Instagram accounts and saw pictures of her wearing items that had gone missing from their inventory in November. Everything started to make sense and the police were contacted. No charges were filed and no arrests were made due to the fact that they didn’t catch them in the act and had no hard evidence to prove the thefts. The two girls are now banned from both boutiques and owners will be able to file charges for trespassing if they attempt to come back again. Konrad has now learned that at least one of the girls has been banned from other stores in Marshall and McCracken County as well.
This is among the latest trends fueled by social media where young girls steal items and then model and sell them on their Instagram accounts. Konrad urges business owners to make sure their employees know that there isn’t a certain “look” of someone who is stealing and they should watch for signs that the customer is trying to divert the employee’s attention or get them alone in the store. Rossi Oliver will no longer allow customers to use their restroom and are in the process of putting several other measures in place to prevent this from happening again in the future. Parents should try to be aware of new clothing their teenagers are wearing and try to ask questions if you suspect anything out of the ordinary.