New initiative targets clothes thieves

SYDNEY: A dramatic increase in the amount of retail stock being stolen from Australia's leading fashion retailers has led to calls to cast aside their differences and initiate plans to tackle the issue.
While discussions are still in their infancy, it is understood preliminary talks have been held with Cue Clothing company, its stablemate Veronika Maine and one other publicly listed clothing retailer among those interested in developing initiatives to curb the problem.
It is hoped that by sharing intelligence about suspected stolen goods gangs and individual thieves, they can help stamp out some of the millions of dollars of stock lost by Australian fashion retailers each year.
The discussions were prompted by Cue which recently became one of the first fashion companies to successfully lay charges against a woman for selling stolen clothing on online auction site eBay.
The arrested Victorian woman, who faces charges of theft and selling stolen goods, was found to have traded branded clothing worth more than $16,000 on the site over a six month period.
A second woman has also been arrested on similar charges. More arrests are likely as police investigations continue.
Sass & Bide, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, James Cameron, Sturrock's Boatique, Zambelli, Bambini, CPH Menswear, One Fish Two Fish, G-Star, Bettina Liano and Alexis George are just some of the retailers to have fallen victim to ram raiders in the past year with much of the stolen goods later believed to have been put up for sale online.
The spokesman said the retail fashion market was very heavily targeted.
"We need to put emotion aside, forget the fact that we're competing on sales and try to deal with the problem of stolen stock."
Most brands have reported losing between one and two per cent of their total sales to shoplifters with some larger brands losing as much as five per cent.
The spokesman said thieves had become more brazen in their style with would-be gangs lining their bags with aluminimum foil to avoid detection through security sensors. They then found a way to distract staff and would steal up to 20 items of clothing at one time, he said.
Middleton Lawyers Lisa Egan, who acts for a number of well-known fashion brands, was one of a number who lent their support to the idea.
Egan said her firm constantly saw the same companies and individuals copying designs, or engaging in other "questionable practices".
"The sharing of knowledge of the identity of such entities assists in bringing about faster resolutions, and it is important for retailers and designers to work co-operatively in this regard. Any [discussion] which brings together various knowledge and experience can only strengthen the case you will have against such [individuals]."