Turning a bad situation into a promotional opportunity, an adult store in Invercargill, NZ, which was targeted by a shoplifter last Monday creatively advertised the theft on social media and has since sold out of the stolen product, an adult toy worth almost $200, according to Stuff.co.
Vanessa Scully, who owns Sinderellas Adult Gift Shop, says she was shocked by the audacity of the theft, which was committed without any attempt of discretion.
“You get shoplifters, but they would hide it,” she comments. “They would put it in their jacket and half an hour or so later we would realize [an item] has gone missing.”
According to Scully, this shoplifter walked into the store, grabbed the item, sauntered around the store, and then walked right out with it. The police report times the event at about 2:30pm.
“He actually walked out of the bloody store with it,” she says.
Scully shares that she chased the man, whom she did not recognize as a regular customer, out of the shop and into traffic at the intersection, but because she was the only person in charge of the store at the time, she could not chase him any further.
The pictures and video surveillance she shared on Facebook corroborated her version of events: the footage shows a man holding a product, walking out out of the store and then running away.
On Tuesday, Scully said that the video had received an abundance of comments and reactions from customers who follow the store online.
Not exactly a ‘five finger discount,’ Scully decided to turn the event into a Valentine’s Day promotion by offering a “free gift” to customers, both in-store and online, who used the code “CHERRY BOMB,” in reference to the words written on the shoplifter’s T-shirt.
Stuff.co reports that “As of Wednesday, Scully said she had sold out of all the product type targeted by the thief.”
The owner calls the situation an example of turning a bad situation into a good advertising opportunity, via social media.
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the police shared that they were alerted to the incident when they received a report from a member of the public who, on Monday night, saw the Facebook post regarding shoplifting. According to the police statement, the store reported on Tuesday morning. This case, which is still open, is currently being assessed further.
Read the original story at Stuff.co.
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