Owner of Kettering 'go to' shop says 'if you want to keep us here stop nicking our stuff'

Shoplifters have been told to stop stealing from a popular Kettering shop or risk driving the colourful boutique out of business.

The Bean Hive in High Street provides retail space for small traders with an eclectic mix of gifts including cards, specialist sweets, homeware and jewellery.

Owner Davina Parkhouse has now upgraded the two-storey shop’s CCTV with a state-of-the-art system that can be monitored by staff using a phone app.

The shop has seen a dramatic increase in thefts but she is most upset by the people stealing being long-standing existing customers.

She said: “It’s heartbreaking. They will buy something and steal things too. Before Covid we didn’t really have this problem. It’s suddenly as if the rules don’t apply.

“It’s their favourite shop in town and they steal from us. Sadly it’s mostly school age and young ladies taking mostly sweets. Every single trader has lost something. One lost 40 bits of jewellery. They might not be expensive but it all adds up.”

Footage will now be gathered from the CCTV cameras as well as being able to react instantly to shoplifting by speaking directly to suspected perpetrators.

Ms Parkhouse said: “We are Kettering’s go to shop for gifts and cards. It’s more than a shop, it’s a destination, it’s part of the Saturday ritual. Frankly, the fact that some of the people who are stealing from us are people who have been our customers from the day we started nearly five years ago is actually just demoralising.”

The shop started in The Yards from a small unit, expanding into the pink shop complete with eye-catching zebra that appears to burst through into the street.

She added: “It’s hard to be a retailer at the moment. We haven’t really paid for Covid and Brexit has messed up our supply chains – the extra paperwork and courier charge means the margins just aren’t there. Kettering is not a rich place and you’ve got to be mindful – it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sell expensive things.

"The cost of staffing has increased – we used to have two members of staff now we have five.

“If you want to keep us here stop nicking our stuff.”