All over the country—from small towns to major cities—protestors are taking to the street following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis over a week ago. The killing of yet another unarmed black man was captured on video and has since become a national rallying cry for justice. The expression of outrage, however, has been broad. The vast majority of protests have come in the form of peaceful demonstrations, but there have been incidents of violent confrontations and looting of storefronts in dozens of urban areas across the nation.
While many major retail brands have taken to social media to express empathy and support peaceful protests, the fear of looting and the concern for the safety of employees has many huge stores limiting their operations. Here are seven beloved brands and stores that are scaling back and even partially shutting down amid the protests. And if you're looking to show your support, check out 7 Charities That Need Your Donation More Than Ever Right Now.
1 Apple
The vast majority of Apple Stores had closed due to the coronavirus and a few had only recently started to reopen. But Apple has now closed an undisclosed number of stores across the country amid concerns of looting, including stores in San Francisco and New York City. It's not clear how many Apple outlets are closed, but the company announced in a statement: "With the health and safety of our teams in mind, we've made the decision to keep a number of our stores in the U.S. closed on Sunday."
An Apple Store in the Soho area of Manhattan was looted over the weekend and another on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn suffered shattered windows, but was not broken into. Apple Stores in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and Scottsdale, Arizona, were also vandalized or looted amid the protests.
2 Amazon
CNBC reported that the world's largest online retailer told its part-time delivery workers (called "flex drivers") across a dozen cities to stop making deliveries "immediately" and return home amid the protests. Flex drivers deliver products using their own vehicles as independent contractors, CNBC noted. Supermarket chain Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, also said it was temporarily closing or reducing operating hours at a number of outlets across the country.
3 Walmart
The world's largest retail chain closed some of its stores in Minneapolis and Atlanta on Friday after a number of them became the targets of looting. In a memo, CEO Doug McMillon told employees: "We must remain vigilant in standing together against racism and discrimination. Doing so is not only at the heart of the values of our company, it's at the core of the most basic principles of human rights, dignity and justice. … As we continue to monitor the situations unfolding across Minneapolis, we will keep our focus on prioritizing the safety of our associates and customers."
4 Target
The looting of a Target in Minneapolis last week was among the first violent break-ins to occur surrounding the protests. Since then, more than 200 Target stores have been closed or had their hours adjusted, company spokeswoman Danielle Schumann said. The company's website listed six stores in five states that are shut down "until further notice."
5 Nike
According to The Wall Street Journal, Nike also announced it has temporarily closed some of its stores. The athletic shoe giant has been quite vocal in supporting the protests and has long been a part of the Black Lives Matter movement, working closely with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
6 Adidas
An Adidas store in an upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles was looted over the weekend. As a result, Adidas closed all of its outlets, just two weeks after reopening some of them for the first time in months, The New York Times reports. On Instagram, Adidas posted the following message to its nearly 26 million followers: "Together is how we move forward," along with the word "RACISM" crossed out.
7 CVS
The nation's largest drugstore chain, CVS, said that more than 250 locations across 21 states faced varying levels of damage from protest activity. As a result, 60 stores remain closed while repairs are made.
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