LULULEMON has announced that it will be closing an additional five stores.
The store closings come as the popular athleisure company has been the target of several theft attempts.
Several of the Lululemon‘s in Washington DC have been forced to close due to a wave of crime in the metropolitan area.
The company has yet to officially confirm why the locations are closing, but the move comes after several stores in the DC area were hit by criminals last week.
One store along the U Street corridor in Northwest Washington is set to permanently close on Sunday, July 21, 2024.
In surveillance footage obtained by Fox affiliate WTTG, four people can be seen stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
One of the suspects is seen wearing a pink baseball cap, another woman with polka dot shoes, a woman with braided buns, and a shirtless man in bright blue shorts.
According to the footage, the theft occurred hours after the store opened on Wednesday morning.
Within two hours of the initial incident, the Georgetown and Penn Quarter stores were also robbed.
All sorts of things were stolen from hats and boxers to shorts and shirts.
The U.S. Sun reached out to Lululemon for comment.
According to the National Retail Federation, retail crime has seen a massive escalation in the US.
Last year, retailers reported $112 billion in losses, up from $93 billion in 2021.
Most of the losses are passed to prospective customers.
“I’m sure companies are trying to get back what they are losing by raising prices, right?” said one Lululemon shopper.
“So that’s definitely frustrating when people who are the ones buying it legally are going to be the ones punished for these people’s crimes.”
Anti-theft measures rolled out by retailers
Retailers across the US and Canada have rolled out strategies designed to combat theft. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of measures that have been implemented at stores.
- Locking items in cabinets.
- Security pegs.
- Security cameras.
- Signs warning about the impact of theft.
- Receipt scanners.
- Receipt checks.
- Carts with locking technology
It was previously reported by the U.S. Sun that a prominent Lululemon store in Washington state had been shuttered.
Per The Seattle Times, the store in the downtown Pacific Place mall shut down in mid-April.
Pacific Place has reportedly suffered since the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, seeing fewer customers than ever before.
Lululemon was directly affected by the decrease in foot traffic and will seemingly have to vacate the area.
Avison Young, the owner of Pacific Place, called the Lululemon closure “unfortunate.”
The exact reasoning behind the closure is unclear, as the company has not issued an official statement.
Lululemon still has another location in downtown Seattle near University Village and eight other locations across Washington.
Fitness enthusiasts can still get what they need — but they may have to travel a bit farther than they used to.
