A Montreal business says it had $15,000 worth of underwear stolen last weekend.
Surveillance video shows a man with an open backpack and a garbage bag taking 80 packages that were waiting to be picked up for delivery.
“Clearly, you can see that the person kind of knew (what he was doing),” said Jessika Denomme, president of Pop Underwear, while watching the video inside her warehouse.
The theft happened over the weekend when the building was supposed to be locked and secured. Denommee is now trying to figure out who took the packages and how they got in.
“The fact that the building is closed, he had access to it, and he kind of took his time to come during the weekend,” she said. “It’s a bit weird.”
Pop Underwear sells underwear and pajamas made with bamboo, printed with playful patterns and witty catchphrases on the waistband.
“We have one with little pickles,” said Denommee, holding up a pair of her company’s underwear. “It says ‘Dill with it.’”
Part of the popularity of the brand is that once a product line is sold out, it is never restocked. For tops and pajamas, that has led to the creation of a large resale market on Facebook.
“They don’t really lose that much value,” Denommee explained, “so if it’s not worn, they can probably resell at the same price.”
For the past seven years, she and her staff have been leaving packages ready for delivery outside their office door in the hallway of their building in Montreal’s garment district.
“It’s just easy for everyone,” she said. “(The delivery companies) know what they have to take and in the warehouse, it’s pretty full.”
Since the theft, she is thinking about changing up her system, and is warning other business owners to rethink their security as well.
The incident is not going to make or break her business, Denommee said, but it is nonetheless worrying .
She hopes with the public’s help that the person responsible might be caught.
