Last week, Kim Kardashian West was the victim of a robbery in Paris. Five men threatened her at gunpoint, tied her up and made off with a ring valued at $4.49 million and other jewellery valued at $5.6 million.
Recently, Kardashian West posted images of a second engagement ring on her Instagram account, which featured a 20-carat diamond. Sources speculate that this piece is one of the stolen items.
While promoting her opulent lifestyle is part of her job, this also makes Kim a target for crime. Independent retailers often similarly promote their luxurious items on social media, which is a wonderful marketing tool. However, these stores cannot control who is making note of their inventory.
As such, retailers must be safe when promoting product on social media. Ensure that you don’t advertise absences on your profiles and that you keep all merchandise in a safe while you are away.
What’s more, Kardashian West did not have security with her at the time of the robbery. Retailers must learn from this, and always have their store secured—whether that’s with a good alarm system, security staff or smash-proof displays.
To learn more about how you can protect your store, keep an eye out for the JVC column in our current issue. It discusses the precautions and actions that retailers must take in order to ensure their store’s—and their employees’—safety.