Woman’s dream perfume store devastated by $30,000 robbery

Nearly $30,000 in stock has been stolen from a small Townsville perfume business, leaving the owner devastated - but a hat left at the scene of the crime might be an important clue.

Stripped shelves at Parfumerie Enchante after a robbery that took nearly $30,000 in stock.

Nearly $30,000 in stock has been stolen from a small Townsville perfume business, leaving the owner devastated and unsure if the business can recover.

Started just one month ago, the Parfumerie Enchante is a small business run by local woman Rachel Hobson that operates just three days a week.

“I have a full-time job in selling land and this is my side hobby,” Ms Hobson said.

“I poured all of my heart and soul into making it work, and I’m not sure if I cover this.”

The robbery occurred around 1am on Tuesday morning, May 27.

Ms Hobson was alerted to the robbery at 8.30am when staff at a neighbouring tattoo shop saw her shop’s front door had been smashed in.

After a whirlwind of contacting police, doing a stocktake, and checking CCTV footage, Ms Hobson said there appears to be a clear suspect.

The damaged front door of Parfumerie Enchante. "I've watched the CCTV footage so many times, and it's really hard to see the door kicked in. We'd just painted it."

“On Friday there was a couple who came into the store and they actually made the girl working feel frightened,” Ms Hobson said.

“I made note of them because of that, and we could see the man looking directly at the cameras in the store and he even went and looked at the lock on the door.”

During the 1am robbery, whoever broke into the store was careful to not look up at where the cameras were located, Ms Hobson said, and in their rush to fill a large bag up with $498 and $568 perfume bottles, the person left their hat behind.

A hat which fell off the head of the person who broke into the store at 1am.

“From the footage we can see this person going in and out of the store several times with the bag,” Ms Hobson said.

“This perfume is really nice stuff, it’s straight from France and I have an exclusive contract to sell it. I’ve put out a post letting everyone know that if they see any of these brands for sale, tell me, because they’ll be from the store.”

The small team at Parfumerie Enchante - owner Rachel Hobson (centre) with her staff Chelsea and Cheyenne in front of the new business on French St, Pimlico. The store is only open Thursday - Saturday.

The exclusive brands are: Parfumes De Marly, Initio, Montale, Mancera, Xerjoff and jewellery brand Les Nereides.

The brazen robbery comes just one day after Queensland Premier David Crisafulli visited Townsville to announce $40m to help stop crime impacted small businesses.

Parfumerie Enchante owner Rachel Hobson is asking people to keep their eyes peeled for any Les Nereides jewellery after items were stolen from her store.

Ms Hobson said it was ironic, because she was at the event when Mr Crisafulli launched the $40m program - called the ‘Secure Communities Partnerships Program’ - on Monday.

At the launch on Flinders St, Mr Crisafulli said businesses deserved to feel safe from crime, “without worrying about being broken into and having their shop ransacked”.

“The cost of a break-in to a small business isn’t just the value of what’s been stolen, it’s also the repairs, rising insurance and lost turnover from being closed,” Mr Crisafulli said.

Queensland Police have confirmed they are investigating the Parfumerie Enchante robbery.

More to come.

Originally published as Woman’s dream perfume store devastated by $30,000 robbery