To catch a thief

I passed my neighborhood Shoppers Drug Mart today and noticed the life-sized Justin Bieber cut-out that had been in the window for a few weeks had been replaced by another display. I wheeled inside, hoping to buy or otherwise obtain Beebs for my granddaughter, a fan.

The cosmetician just rolled her eyes. Turns out I’m not exactly the only interested party. The cosmetician had recently attended a Shoppers gathering at which she’d learned the pop star’s cardboard cut-out had already been stolen from 36 Shoppers stores. The cut-outs are meant to promote the singer’s new fragrance, Someday, and according to the contract must be displayed in every store for a year.

The number of stores that have suffered losses must surely be higher now that a character called Sheena Snively stole a statue from a Yonge Street Shoppers live on MTV. In another instance, a women pulled up outside a store, sent her daughter in to grab his Beebness, then they all three drove off. Talk about your getaway cars.

The stories are legion. In Florida, a man was charged with theft for snatching a Bieber likeness. At my local Shoppers a man walked off with their copy for an appearance at his daughter’s birthday party then returned it later in the day. After that staff watched the target even more closely but somehow it was still stolen. A review of the surveillance cameras did not show the actual heist. That’s why there’s a new window display.

My son Mark, who writes the best blog in the country, has a solution. If there’s a demand, create a supply. He suggests making as many cut-outs as will sell at $175 each with all proceeds going to the two charities that Bieber has designated for receipts from the fragrance: Pencils of Promise and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Fathers and mothers everywhere would happily pay. Maybe even a few grandfathers, too.