Atlanta clothing boutique owner Karin Keeling is in survival mode. But it's not because of the rough economy.

Thieves have broken into Keeling's trendy Buckhead shop, Market, twice in the past year, hauling off more than $21,000 worth of high-end jeans and other merchandise.

Hyosub Shin/AJC (ENLARGE)

Owner Karin Keeling arranges jeans at Market boutique in Buckhead. Her shop has been robbed twice in the past year, with thieves hauling off more than $21,000 worth of merchandise.

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After Keeling's insurance company dropped her, she had to scramble to find another provider — at $4,000 a year, four times the cost of her old plan.

She recently spent about $14,000 on new security measures, including custom-made metal gates and a panic button system that she can activate to alert police to crimes in progress.

Keeling said the rising expenses, lost revenue and overall uncertainty have taken their toll, threatening her 6-year-old business.

"If I have another break-in, I'll have to close down. I just can't do it anymore," she said. "You follow your dream, you're so proud of yourself, and someone just comes in and takes it from you."

Boutique owners across metro Atlanta are reeling from a crime wave that has seen dozens of stores hit by bands of thieves targeting designer jeans that retail for $200 and up a pair.

Atlanta police have worked 25 cases this year alone, netting 14 arrests, and have formed a "blue jean bandit" task force to combat the crimes. But the break-ins continue.

Last week, a group of thieves were caught trying to break into a Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th store at the North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawson County.

The week before, two boutiques were hit within an hour of each other, first in Buckhead and then in downtown Decatur, in daring and violent daytime robberies. In both cases, groups of young men pepper-sprayed and beat store clerks before clearing shelves of jeans.

The list of victims is a virtual who's who of Atlanta's hip, outside-the-mall fashion scene. Names include: Bill Hallman in Virginia-Highland; Kaleidoscope in Decatur; BluPrint in Little Five Points and Glenwood Park; and Pieces of Adrene in East Atlanta and a sister store, Adrene Boutiques in Castleberry Hill.

Some stores have been hit multiple times.

"I've never seen anything like this. It's crazy," said Bill Hallman, who has owned boutiques for 18 years and now runs a mini-empire that includes two shops in Virginia Highland and another in Little Five Points. "I have friends with stores in other cities, and I'm asking what's happening in Chicago, Miami, L.A. I'm not hearing any of this."

Tough for small businesses to recover

Most Atlanta boutiques are small businesses owned by individuals who often take out loans and drain their savings to open up and purchase merchandise. Few have the deep pockets needed to weather a sustained crime wave.

Even one robbery can quickly cause financial problems. Although insurance may reimburse store owners for the cost of stolen merchandise, rates sometimes rise, and it can take months for insurance companies to investigate claims and cut checks.

Meanwhile, shelves cleared by thieves sit empty. The specialty clothing items stocked by boutiques can be difficult to replace. Designer jeans makers such as True Religion and Rock & Republic require special orders, and sometimes the most popular styles are out of stock.

And many owners are spending their own money to boost security. Hallman has installed security gates and hired guards at $25 an hour to patrol his stores. At Adrene Boutique, shoppers must be buzzed into the store.

The threat to Atlanta's boutiques comes at a time when there is a demand for them. Trendy neighborhoods, from established places like Buckhead and Virgina-Highland to relative newcomers like Castleberry Hill and East Atlanta, seek independent clothing stores to add to the shopping mix.

Kaleidoscope, a funky boutique in resurgent downtown Decatur, was robbed by pepper-spray-wielding bandits the day before a planned seventh anniversary celebration.

Store owner Camille Wright figures the thieves got away with $10,000 worth of men's jeans, a big blow considering Father's Day was just two weeks away.

"To have somebody come in and just take it, it's just a complete violation," she said.

"Every person I know who owns a boutique is someone who's working hard and struggling to make it in a bad economy. So to have this happen just adds insult to injury."

Adrene Boutique was robbed in early June, just two months after the store opened in Castleberry Hill. At a time when owner Adrene Ashford had hoped to be impressing new customers, many of her shelves sit half-empty.

Ashford, who has owned Pieces of Adrene in East Atlanta for seven years, is angry. "This is a company I built on my own," she said. "This is my life; this is my livelihood.

"It's a bad economy. There are so many financial issues that we as individual business owners have to deal with, let alone someone stealing from you and jeopardizing your safety. You have to sit down and analyze it. Is it worth it?"

Ashford said she's not ready to give in just yet.

"I'm not going to be run off easy. I love what I do," she said. "I might have to change the way that I do the business. There are other options. I'm not a quitter. You have to adjust."