WATCH: Thieves crash car into UK store to steal nearly 200 Jellycat plush toys as market booms
With the booming resale market for Jellycat toy rarities, retailers across the United Kingdom are reporting a surge in thievery.
CapeTalk's Clarence Ford speaks to Barbara Friedman, Content Editor of Primedia Plus, about trending online stories.
Listen below:
With the booming resale market for Jellycat toy rarities, retailers across the United Kingdom are reporting a surge in ‘stealing to sell’ shoplifting, with some going to extreme lengths to protect their ‘Jellies' (as aficionados call them).
The brightly coloured, charmingly quirky toys have glistening eyes, stitched smiles beaming with plushiness in the form of teddies, bunnies, cows, giraffes, boiled eggs in sunglasses and tennis balls with arms -- a variety offered to those who want one for cuddling or collection.
In recent years, Jellies have gained popularity online: Jellycat’s official TikTok account, for example, has 10.2 million likes.
There are Facebook pages dedicated to buying and selling rare editions of Jellies; Reddit threads discuss in detail the latest releases; and content creators share videos of themselves “unboxing” the toys or styling them with an outfit of the day.
@jellycat Why add one bag charm, when you can add four 🤭💙 🎥 @莫莉 Molly Chiang #BagCharm #Jellycat #JellycatBagCharm #JellycatCollection ♬ Cute bright hip hop(1018707) - hope music
The company’s recent collaboration with Harrods also went viral on TikTok, making them even higher in demand to the point where criminals are trying to steal them for reselling at higher prices.
The latest in Jellycat thievery includes about £20,000 worth of stolen Jellycat and Charlie Bears soft toys at a popular toys shop in the United Kingdom, The Gorge Bear Company.
The owners of The Gorge Bear Company in Cheddar, Somerset, said a man and woman were spotted on CCTV looking into their window about 20 minutes before the incident.
A car was then rammed into the shop eight times until the store's glass doors shattered and nearly 200 Jellies were stolen, reports say.
Each toy has a serial number attached to them and an investigation is currently underway, say reports.
Watch the CCTV captured from the moment and shared by ABC News Australia's YouTube channel below:
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