Police in Washington have arrested several suspects in connection with an organized retail theft crime ring that allegedly targeted primarily Lululemon stores in Western Washington, Northern Oregon, and Southern California.
In a Thursday release, the Bellevue Police Department said that three suspects, aged 24, 19 and 49, were charged in the King County Superior Court and are alleged to have committed retail thefts on at least 42 occasions, stealing goods worth more than $537,000. The trio allegedly stole “thousands of dollars worth of merchandise” on each trip, police said, including one as recently as Sunday. Police on Tuesday found suspected stolen merchandise, three semi-automatic rifles and other materials when they served a search warrant at the house of one of the suspects.
“This case is an excellent example of the hard work of our officers and detectives.” said Bellevue Police Assistant Chief of Police Andrew Popochock in a statement. “The message is clear: if you engage in criminal activities in Bellevue, we will work tirelessly to locate you and hold you accountable for your actions.”
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Police said they worked on the case with Lululemon’s regional Organized Retail Crime investigator. FN has reached out to Lululemon for a comment.
The news comes shortly after reports that a Lululemon store in Seattle, Wash. is set to close at the end of the month due to lower-than-expected sales. More broadly, the Vancouver-based athletic company has quietly shuttered several other stores, according to various news reports. In December, the company closed its Navy Yard neighborhood store in Washington, D.C. less than two weeks after it was robbed. Other recent reported closures occurred at Lululemon’s downtown Lincoln, Neb. store in January, at its Hyde Park store in Chicago’s south side in November and at its West Market Street Station store in Akron, Ohio this past June.
Like other hot retailers, Lululemon has been targeted by organized retail crime rings in the past. In September, Philadelphia police made several arrests in connection with looting and property damage at several stores in the Center City area, including Lululemon. In 2022, California authorities recovered a shipment of stolen Lululemon merchandise with a retail value of $203,688.
According to the National Retail Federation, retailers saw a dramatic jump in financial losses associated with theft in 2022. When taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2022, shrink accounted for $112.1 billion in losses, up from $93.9 billion in 2021, according to the 2023 National Retail Security Survey released by NRF.
