Thieves steal $75,000 worth of apparel from east Windsor sports store

A pair of thieves ripped the door of an east Windsor sports apparel store on Monday morning, leaving the store owner on the hook for thousands in stolen merchandise.

Bob Reaume, the owner of Bob Reaume Sports on Tecumseh Road East, told CTV News he received a call from his security company around 5:45 a.m., stating that their alarm had been triggered.

“Got down here to find the front door ripped off and a bunch of stuff missing,” Reaume said.

Camera footage released by the store shows what appears to be a Ford Escape with a cord attached to the rear end being used to remove the door.

“I could also see that one of the main racks was empty,” Reaume said.

The store owner said that NFL, NHL and MLB jerseys are missing, as well as various sports hats.

The doorway at Bob Reaume Sports is partially boarded up after thieves broke in in Windsor, Ont. on Nov. 11, 2024. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor)

Early estimates by Reaume peg the lost retail value at about $75,000.

Reaume said the Windsor Police Service and his insurance representatives have been notified.

In its more than 40 years in business, Reaume said the store has experienced theft, but he feels this instance was planned.

“This was not a couple of kids looking to smash and grab type of thing. This was pretty well organized,” Reaume said.

“When you bring a chain with you to hook up to the back of your vehicle to pull a door off, not a lot of people travel with that.”

Reaume estimated the thieves entered the store, stole the jerseys and left in under three minutes.

“That’s not their first rodeo,” he said.

For Reaume, the theft comes at his busiest time of year as Christmas is only weeks away.

“I need to get some product to sell for Christmas. Timing isn't exactly great, and we do a lot of jerseys for Christmas,” Reaume said.

“I’m going through the list of products (companies) have available right now and so if they don't have it, I'm not getting it.”

The store owner suspects his merchandise has already been moved out of town to another vendor.

“I'd be willing to bet the farm that these jerseys went out of town to somebody who ahead of time said this is what we need,” Reaume said.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, an increase in theft is a trend impacting businesses across the nation.

A CFIB report released in October states 24 per cent of businesses surveyed in 2023 reported being directly impacted by crime and community safety issues.

However, in 2024 that figure has drastically increased to 45 per cent of businesses surveyed.

Ryan Mallough, the CFIB vice-president of legislative affairs, said it can be “incredibly demoralizing” for businesses to learn they were the victim of a crime.

Thieves tow the door off of Bob Reaume Sports on Nov. 11. (Source: Bob Reaume Sports)

“Certainly anecdotally, from our memberships, we are hearing about a lot more than, you know, just like shoplifting or a little bit of vandalism,” Mallough said.

In some cases, Mallough said businesses have been forced to install security cameras.

While theft can often cost businesses who have to replace their stolen goods, Mallough noted owners may also see increases on their insurance costs.

“We have heard from a lot of business owners who say, you know, it's not worth it to file a claim,” Mallough said.

“The expense on the insurance side will wind up going up and costing more.”

Mallough said it will be difficult to get to the root of rising crime, given there is no “silver bullet,” to solve it. He noted they would like to see provincial measures in place to help businesses deter or respond to crime.

“There are places like B.C., like in Manitoba, where they've introduced funds to help support some of the costs, with things like physical security, like with cleanup of broken windows, vandalism, that sort of thing,” he added.

In the meantime, Reaume is asking anyone who may have information or footage related to the break-in to contact the Windsor Police Service.