New Princeton boutique robbed of $250K in designer handbags

👜 Masked thieves broke into a Princeton boutique and stole luxury handbags valued at $250,000.

🚨 The store opened in June and could remain closed for two weeks while repairs are made.

🔎 Surveillance shows at least four people taking Hermès, Kelly, Birkin and Chanel bags.

PRINCETON — A new business owner is asking for help to recover a collection of designer handbags worth $250,000 stolen last week.

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In June, the Princeton Bag Archive opened on Witherspoon Street near the public library. Now it's temporarily closed after a smash-and-grab.

The store said repairs could take up to two weeks.

Thieves targeted Hermès and Chanel bags

A group of masked thieves broke through the boutique's front window around 1:40 a.m. on Sept. 1, the shop said on Instagram. Video surveillance showed at least four individuals taking Hermès Birkin and Kelly handbags from the shelves. The Archive's owner also said rare, hard-to-find Chanel bags were taken.

"What hurts most isn’t only the loss. This little store was built with so much care, filled with things we truly loved. Seeing it treated this way has been heartbreaking and incredibly shocking for all of us," the operators said.

New Jersey handbag stores have been targeted before

Handbag shops have been increasingly targeted by organized retail theft.

In July, C’est La Bella in Morristown was similarly burgled. Designer handbags were stolen during a 10-second heist while the shop was open and customers were inside.

In Roxbury, a handbag store was robbed four times in four months in 2024.

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