Another holiday tradition unfortunately reared its head recently at North Point Mall in Alpharetta.
Several women went into the Von Maur store just before Christmas and helped themselves to roughly 30 coats off the racks, Channel 2 Action News reported.
They weren’t Christmas shopping, and they weren’t trying to help less fortunate people stay warm.
“Obviously they were looking to profit from this theft,” Alpharetta police Officer Howard Miller said. “You’re looking at several thousand dollars worth of coats they were stealing.”
However, the store’s internal security force wasn’t fooled.
"One of the strategies of loss prevention is they watch people on camera,” Miller said, “able to confront someone."
And so it was with these people, Miller said. The women left the store quickly when they learned they had been found out. And they dropped the coats in the process.
That happens at lot during the holiday season, according to a retail industry worker.
"The amount of theft this time of year is just astronomical," retail worker Yvonne Akers told Channel 2.
"When you have a big theft like that, the store has to absorb it, and it takes away hours from employees,” she said. “I've seen that happen."
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