SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The founder and CEO of the outdoor clothing store Cotopaxi has decided to temporarily close a San Francisco location after being repeatedly hit by organized theft.
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Cotopaxi CEO Davis Smith announced in a now-viral LinkedIn post that he is clothing the Hayes Valley location at 549 Hayes St., citing "rampant organized theft" and a "lack of safety for our team." However, some people who live and work in the area aren't happy with how he made the announcement.
One Hayes Valley resident and sales associate at the clothing store Faherty, which operates across the street from the now closed Cotopaxi, told KCBS Radio she is frustrated with the picture Smith painted.
"I'm curious, I don't know, does the CEO live here?" she asked. "Does the CEO visit the neighborhood? Has the CEO spent the last two years here? What expertise does the CEO have to say that Hayes Valley is a dangerous, crime-ridden neighborhood?"
According to the LinkedIn post, Smith lives in Salt Lake City and is avoiding San Francisco because he believes it has "descended into a city of chaos." Smith made the decision to close the location after windows were repeatedly broken and merchandise was stolen, causing the Cotopaxi to lose thousands.
"Our store is hit by organized theft rings several times per week," Smith wrote. "They brazenly enter the store and grab thousands of dollars of product and walk out."
Faherty store manager Rommel Piring admitted to KCBS Radio that shoplifting happens in retail, but said they haven't experienced anything close to what Smith said was occuring at Cotopaxi.
"I know that some of the problem, too, is that they didn't have a gate set up in front of the store, so a lot of the stuff that I read online had to do with overnight theft as well, but we have a gate in front of our store," Piring explained.
A spokesperson for Cotopaxi told KCBS Radio they hope to reopen the Hayes Valley location in the near future.
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