Washington, D.C.-Area Lululemon Stores Struck Repeatedly by Thieves
It seems life is giving one athleisure brand lemons when it comes to retail theft.
Over the past week, Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department arrested two separate people accused of stealing from Lululemon stores throughout the district.
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On July 20, members of the department’s Robbery Suppression Unit arrested Charles Mitchell-Baynes, 30, of Northwest. Police said they stopped him after an alleged traffic violation, at which point they determined that Mitchell-Baynes allegedly had over $3,800 worth of Lululemon merchandise in his car, along with illegal substances.
According to the MPD, Mitchell-Baynes has been charged with a felony count of receiving stolen property.
On July 19, one day before Mitchell-Baynes’ arrest, MPD arrested Avante Demarco Greene, 23, of Northwest, for his alleged involvement in “numerous retail theft cases” against Lululemon. Police said they conducted a traffic stop on Demarco Greene, which resulted in his arrest.
“Early Friday morning, Third District nightlife officers were on patrol and conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle wanted in numerous retail theft cases. During the traffic stop, the officers determined that the driver matched a picture of a suspect connected to the thefts at Lululemon,” the department said in a release.
Police charged Demarco Greene with three counts of first-degree theft, alleging that, on three different occasions—July 10, July 12 and July 16—he stole more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from Lululemon’s stores.
Police reports shared with Sourcing Journal by MPD show that Lululemon reported the retail theft incidents that occurred on each of those days.
The report for the July 10 incident shows Lululemon reported “miscellaneous men’s shorts and T-shirts” in multiple colors stolen, declaring a value of $5,350. The report for the July 12 incident shows that the company reported 227 units of multi-colored pants, leggings and T-shirts as stolen, with a declared value of $20,000. And the report for the July 16 incident shows Lululemon reported 268 units of “assorted merchandise items” as stolen, with a declared value of $11,204. In the reports for the July 12 and July 16 incidents, officers stated that Lululemon said there were multiple suspects.
Last week, Lululemon announced it would close its store on 14th Street in D.C. on July 21. The company did not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment on whether retail theft had anything to do with the closure of the store.
Neither of the two stores listed in police’s account of Demarco Greene’s alleged thefts is the one that Lululemon closed on July 21; his alleged involvement took place at Lululemon’s stores on F Street, Northwest and M Street, Northwest.
However, Lululemon has been the victim of a number of retail crime incidents over the past several months in Washington, D.C.
In December, the company closed its Navy Yard store abruptly about two weeks after an armed robbery at the store. Neither MPD nor the company stated at the time whether the closure was linked to retail crime.
The nation’s capital isn’t the only place Lululemon has been having issues with retail theft.
According to the police department in Lake Forest, Ill., a Lululemon store in the town has seen six retail theft incidents over the past three months. On July 12, the date of one of those six incidents, police arrested two suspects they allegedly found with about $3,000 of stolen merchandise and charged both the women with Class 3 felonies.
This year, police have also arrested suspects accused of participating in organized retail crimes that included Lululemon in both Philadelphia and Bellevue, Wa.
Lululemon did not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment on how retail crime affects its operations and customers.
