At 4 o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, masked thieves drove a minivan through the front window of Social Status, an apparel and footwear boutique on Central Avenue. The thieves stole an estimated $7,000 worth of merchandise before fleeing the scene. The entire heist was caught on store surveillance.
At 9:30am the day of the incident store manager Charlena Washington sat next to a pile of shattered glass in an otherwise untouched store, stating matter-of-factly that they would remain open for the day “to make a statement.”
A police investigation is under way but Washington speculated, “It’s probably someone who knows us, who knows the store.”
Given the price point of products sold at Social Status, $7,000 in merchandise doesn’t go far. “Yeah, they took some $100 t-shirts and $200 pants,” said Washington, “but they didn’t even touch those $500 hats or any cash.”
It’s unclear whether products were targeted or stolen at random in the rush, but Bathing Ape (bape) brand accounted for most of what was taken.
This isn’t the first time Social Status has fallen on hard times. A fire ripped through the flagship Charlotte store in December 2013, shutting the location down for a year. They reopened Black Friday 2014 only to be hit seven months later with yesterday’s incident.
Washington says it won’t slow them down. “This is nothing compared to the fire,” she said. “We’ll have the glass replaced in a couple days.”
By 3pm they had boarded up the broken window and were back in business.
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