A Dallas shop specializing in high-end luxury resale is adjusting its entry protocol in hopes of added security.
To Be Continued has been in Dallas for eight years. The consignment boutique also has stores in California and Arizona, which Kenny Ortega also oversees as regional sales manager.
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WATCH HERE“We take customers’ high-end goods, and we sell them when they’re done with them, or maybe they bought a handbag they don’t want to use any longer. We go ahead and find a new home for those,” Ortega said.
Its West Lovers Lane location in Dallas has never had any security issues until this week when they experienced a burglary and break-in on two separate occasions, Ortega said. The store already requires customers to be buzzed in and now starting Monday, they will also ask for photo ID before entry.
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SIGN UP “It will go into a store phone that never leaves a store location. It’ll be saved until the end of the month,” Ortega said. “At the same time though, we’re going to be rewarding everybody that comes in with a 50 dollar gift card off a $250 or more purchase by giving us our ID and getting used to the new normal at TBC.”
Ortega said the first incident that prompted this change in entry protocol occurred on Monday afternoon when two men were let into the store. When the team was busy, he said the two clipped a security wire on a $9,000 Chanel bag and left the store without paying.
“Normal casual guys. Looked like they were at Eatzi’s or a day off for lunch. Picking up a coffee from La La Land,” he said. “In retail, we’re taught signs of somebody’s stealing from you. They might avoid contact with you. They might try to hide all of their eyes and face. These gentlemen did neither of the two.”
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In the second incident overnight Friday, Ortega said security cameras caught two people breaking into the back of the store. They were gone within a minute or so once alarms were triggered, but he said they got away with about $500 worth of non-consigned merchandise and caused about $5,000 worth of structural damage.
“We’re living in a different climate right now. Everybody is vulnerable to these kind of things. We’re not above it. I don’t think anybody is,” he said.
Ortega said he realized the photo ID requirement is not common practice, but it’s a step he said they feel they must take for the time being.
“This doesn’t happen at all luxury resellers but that we have to make a difference,” he said.
Ortega said a report has been filed with Dallas police.
