Pokémon theft surge prompts Danish retailers to empty shelves nightly

Fredericia shop owner Jakob Kjær estimates thieves made off with Pokémon merchandise worth 160,000 kroner when they raided his BP Lagersalg store last week.

“They took almost everything that had the word Pokémon on it,” Kjær said. “I was surprised how much they managed to carry out, and then I just felt exhausted.”

The break-in left only a single pack of cards behind in the display cases that Kjær had spent months assembling. Security had previously been tightened—Pokémon items were locked in cabinets that staff had to open manually—but thieves still bypassed the measures.

To prevent another theft, Kjær now plans to remove all Pokémon stock from the sales floor each evening and store it off-site. “The crooks aren’t going to win,” he said.

Retailers across Denmark have adopted similar precautions after a wave of Pokémon-related burglaries. In Kolding, Bilka installed a dedicated Pokémon vending machine so customers must pay before receiving cards, while the rest of the store’s Pokémon stock remains locked in a cabinet accessible only with staff assistance.

“Before we locked them up, Pokémon cards were being stolen,” said Henrik Mogensen, Bilka Kolding’s warehouse manager. “We’re tired of the extra steps, but we have to stop it.”

In Aarhus and Copenhagen, the &Cards chain has gone further, adding facial-recognition cameras, barred windows and doors, and a policy requiring customers to show ID when browsing high-value binders.

“It’s been expensive, but so is losing money to theft,” said Martin Færch Strömme, the chain’s co-owner. “Pokémon cards are easy to move and in high demand right now.”

Færch Strömme said the cards’ portability and rising resale value make them attractive targets for thieves who can sell them almost anywhere.