Pure Beauty

‘The customer threw a candle at my colleague’: Beauty is facing a violent retail crime epidemic

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 15-Feb-2024

Violent shoplifting crimes are soaring and more needs to be done to keep beauty industry’s retail workforce safe

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“The customer picked up the candle and threw it at my colleague, and ended up taking another candle on her way out of the store,” a Rituals retail worker in central London confessed to Cosmetics Business

Unfortunately, the experience is increasingly commonplace for beauty's shop floor staff.

For every 25 incidents where thieves are targeting beauty products in the UK, three of those will include violent and aggressive behaviour, reported crime prevention agency Auror.

Beauty stores are prime targets for criminals, as they stock items that can easily be stolen and sold for a premium online.

The Rituals employee, who did not want to be named, said the incident unfolded after

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