Oslo police reported Tuesday that three persons broke into the exclusive Bottega Veneta boutique on Prinsens Gate during the night and stole virtually its entire inventory. With each purse in the shop carrying an extremely high price-tag, losses were expected to be substantial.
Vidar Pedersen of the Oslo Police District told state broadcaster NRK that a taxi driver called police after seeing three persons load items into two different vehicles just before 4am. Suspecting foul play, he reported a theft in progress.
Police arrived to find the thieves gone and the shop’s front entrance shattered. NRK reported that each purse in the shop was priced at at much as NOK 18,000 (USD 30,000).
Police were searching for two vehicles described as a dark Audi stationwagon and a silver Volvo sedan.
The Bottega Veneta shop is part of a cluster of luxury retailers that have established themselves in Oslo during the past few years, nearly all of them located in the shopping district behind the Norwegian Parliament building (Stortinget). Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Hermés and Gucci are among those that have set up shop, a reflection of Norway’s booming, oil-fed economy in recent years.
Sales have boomed as well, with the Louis Vuitton shop in Oslo reporting the highest sales per square meter in the country.
newsinenglish.no staff
