<p>A brazen shoplifter has helped himself to an alligator-leather coat worth nearly USD 130,000 from a flagship Burberry store in one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping districts, police said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The pricey trench coat was displayed on a mannequin, and staff at the British brand's shop in Tsim Sha Tsui discovered it was missing after they closed for business on Wednesday.<br /><br />"The person who reported the case discovered a leather jacket worth about Hong Kong dollar 900,000 had disappeared. A review of the security cameras made staff believe it had been stolen," police said in a statement.<br /><br />Police are looking for a strongly built male suspect aged between 30 and 40, it said.The Tsim Sha Tsui area is particularly popular with wealthy Chinese tourists willing to pay eye-popping prices for Western brands.<br /><br />The suspect is a Chinese man and walked out of the three-storey store unchallenged after removing the coat from the mannequin in the early evening of Wednesday, the South China Morning Post reported today.<br /><br />Quoting a police source, the newspaper said some designer brands avoid placing security tags on their high-end products for fear of ruining their quality, relying instead on surveillance cameras and security personnel.<br /><br />Burberry, which has 14 stores in Hong Kong, declined to comment on details of the case, citing an ongoing police investigation.<br /><br />"As the case is under investigation, Burberry will not make any further comments," the company said in an emailed statement to AFP.<br /><br />After making its name selling sensible outdoor wear for the British gentry, the retailer has moved distinctly upmarket in recent years.<br /><br />Driven by double-digit sales growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Burberry's retail revenues jumped 14 percent to USD 866 million in the quarter to December 31.</p>
<p>A brazen shoplifter has helped himself to an alligator-leather coat worth nearly USD 130,000 from a flagship Burberry store in one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping districts, police said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The pricey trench coat was displayed on a mannequin, and staff at the British brand's shop in Tsim Sha Tsui discovered it was missing after they closed for business on Wednesday.<br /><br />"The person who reported the case discovered a leather jacket worth about Hong Kong dollar 900,000 had disappeared. A review of the security cameras made staff believe it had been stolen," police said in a statement.<br /><br />Police are looking for a strongly built male suspect aged between 30 and 40, it said.The Tsim Sha Tsui area is particularly popular with wealthy Chinese tourists willing to pay eye-popping prices for Western brands.<br /><br />The suspect is a Chinese man and walked out of the three-storey store unchallenged after removing the coat from the mannequin in the early evening of Wednesday, the South China Morning Post reported today.<br /><br />Quoting a police source, the newspaper said some designer brands avoid placing security tags on their high-end products for fear of ruining their quality, relying instead on surveillance cameras and security personnel.<br /><br />Burberry, which has 14 stores in Hong Kong, declined to comment on details of the case, citing an ongoing police investigation.<br /><br />"As the case is under investigation, Burberry will not make any further comments," the company said in an emailed statement to AFP.<br /><br />After making its name selling sensible outdoor wear for the British gentry, the retailer has moved distinctly upmarket in recent years.<br /><br />Driven by double-digit sales growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Burberry's retail revenues jumped 14 percent to USD 866 million in the quarter to December 31.</p>