By now, many of you have probably seen the video of one of multiple thieves breaking into a store and making off with bags of items or arms full of stolen goods.
One premium retail store, known for its successful athleisure wear promoted by social media influencers, has become a hotspot for enthusiastic fans and thieves.
It’s happening all over the country and right here in Houston.
Earlier this month in Atlanta, the police department shared images of two men caught with handfuls of Lululemon apparel.
Police said the two men entered the store and made off with about $10,000 in merchandise.
Just last week in St. Louis, police released images of five suspects wanted for stealing over $3,000 worth of items from a Lululemon store.
Last year, the Associated Press reported on a couple in Minnesota arrested as part of a shoplifting ring suspected of stealing around $1 million in goods from Lululemon stores across the country.
Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, both from Danbury, Connecticut, were charged this month with one felony count of organized retail theft.
According to a Lululemon investigator, the couple was linked to hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses nationwide, as they would steal items and make fraudulent returns.
And it’s not just a distant problem; it’s happening right in our own backyards.
Last year, 19-year-old Mya Johnson was arrested and charged with theft for allegedly stealing $5,000 worth of merchandise from the Lululemon store on University Boulevard. According to court documents, surveillance video shows Johnson standing by the door, acting as a lookout, while three others ran inside the store and stole large amounts of clothing.
These are all examples of organized retail theft, which is a growing problem in Texas, according to the Texas Organized Retail Theft (ORT) Task Force.
In November 2024, research into ORT showed that this is becoming a pressing issue for retailers across Texas, leading to staggering financial losses.
A 2021 analysis by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Buy Safe America Coalition revealed that Texas retailers lost an estimated $3.9 billion to various types of retail crime in 2019, which includes organized retail theft (ORT), shoplifting, and fraud. This represents about 0.95% of total sales in the state’s five largest retail categories: pharmaceutical and health care products, clothing, alcohol and tobacco products, household goods, and office equipment and computers.
In simpler terms, for every $100 spent in these major retail areas, nearly 95 cents is lost to crime.
The impact of ORT extends beyond the retail sector; it also affects state and local tax revenues.
The losses from these thefts resulted in an estimated $21 million in lost state tax revenue and contributed to the loss of around 4,700 jobs in Texas in 2022.
Nationally, the situation is equally concerning.
In 2019, retail crime, including ORT, accounted for $68.9 billion in losses, nearly 3.1% of retail sales. Sixty-seven percent of retailers reported a considerable increase in ORT incidents, indicating that this is not just a localized problem but a widespread epidemic affecting businesses across the country.
In response to this growing threat, the Texas Legislature established the Organized Retail Theft Task Force in 2023.
Led by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, this task force aims to analyze the issue and develop strategies to combat ORT through collaboration among law enforcement, retailers, and policy experts.
One of the key findings the task force reported in its study is the lack of comprehensive data on ORT, which makes it challenging to quantify the extent of the problem and allocate resources effectively. To address this, the task force recommends creating a statewide repository to collect and analyze ORT data, helping to identify trends and inform future actions.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has since established an Organized Retail Theft Prevention Unit, focusing on investigating ORT cases and working alongside local law enforcement. Since its start, nearly 80 investigations have been conducted and 99 arrests have been made.
This Thursday at 6 p.m., 2 Investigates reporter Amy Davis will explore the thefts occurring at Lululemon stores nationwide and the measures the retailer is taking to combat these incidents.
