Sunday 15 September 2013

Thieving below the shop-radar

On a recent Saturday morning trip to Debenhams, I was bemused to find a consumer (not shopper) squatting down in the cosmetic department, out of sight of the demonstrators and counter-staff.

She then proceeded to liberally apply almost a 200ml bottle of upmarket skin lotion to the exposed parts of her child and herself, before returning the empty container to the counter, and nodding at the counter staff before departing into the bright sunshine…neither staff nor consumer knowing, and probably not caring, that her ‘sampling’ of a £29 bottle of upmarket body lotion would require incremental sales of £500 to restore Debenhams (Net Margin = 5.8%) to the square one that existed before her visit…  

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