In the span of one week, two separate thefts were reported at the Lululemon in Rittenhouse Square. Meanwhile, a Lululemon in Ardmore was robbed when four women walked into the store grabbed clothing, then left on Tuesday. NBC10’s Frances Wang has more on the string of robberies and how shoppers are feeling.
There have been at least three robberies at Lululemon stores in the Philadelphia area in the past week, according to officials. Two happened at the same store in Center City and a third theft occurred at the store in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
The first Lululemon store robbery happened on Thursday, May 9, just after 5 p.m., police in Philadelphia said.
An officer was called to the store located on the 1700 block of Walnut Street after a witness -- who did not work at the store -- reported the theft, police said.
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Once at the store, the officer saw a person, identified as Alexis Salmon, 28, put clothing into the trunk of a Chevy Malibu, officials said. The clothes were not in a shopping bag.
When the officer tried to stop Salmon, she ran away on foot before being taken into custody after a quick chase, according to officials.
Another person, identified as 29-year-old Marquise Baker, was the driver of the Chevy and was arrested, police said.
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Both Salmon and Baker have been charged with retail theft and criminal conspiracy, police said.
The second robbery occurred on May 14 just before 11:30 a.m. in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, according to officials.
Lt. Jim Baitinger of the Lower Merion Township Police Department told NBC10 that the thieves got away with $10,350 of merchandise.
Officers with the police department were on their way to the Lululemon store for reports of the theft when they found four women, one just 18 years old, running out of the store with the clothing, Baitinger said. All four suspects were arrested.
Lower Merion Police shared surveillance video from inside the store that shows a group of four teenagers walking into the building at Suburban Square and being greeted by two men who were already inside the store.
In another angle shown by the security cameras inside the store, the group of suspects can be seen entering and then rummaging through the clothing racks.
In the video, one suspect wearing a blue surgical mask can be seen leaving the store with a pile of clothing in their arms.
A few moments later, the two men make their way back to the front door before another suspect runs out with a pile of clothing in her arms and some of the clothes can be seen dragging on the ground.
A little while later, two other suspects can be seen with piles of clothing in their arms as they walk out of the store before running away.
Then, on Thursday, the Lululemon store on Walnut Street in Philadelphia was hit again by thieves, police said. Officers are investigating after they were called back to the store for reports of a theft in progress just before noon.
“At Lululemon, the safety and security of our people and guests is our top priority. Employees are instructed to call 911 when needed. We take thefts and vandalism very seriously and always follow our policies and protocols for responding to them. This includes working closely with law enforcement at both the local and federal level on a daily basis, actively participating in reporting and supporting investigations to ensure that offenders are held accountable," a spokesperson for Lululemon said in a statement to NBC10.
So far this year, there have been 41 reported retail thefts on the 1700 block of Walnut Street, according to data from the Philadelphia Police Department.
Shoppers react
Many shoppers were not surprised to hear about all of the retail theft happening in the Rittenhouse Square section of Center City in Philadelphia.
"I think retail thefts have always been a thing when I was a teenager," Lululemon shopper Alex Husband said. "I worked in retail. It's always been an issue."
But, they were a little surprised at how often it's been happening.
"It's scary, but then also you gotta think about why are people stealing?" one shopper said. "A lot of retail I see in my neighborhood is, you know, they're stealing soap, they're stealing deodorant, they're stealing laundry detergent. What's the root to all of this?"
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
