George Floyd protests force Walmart, Target and CVS to close stores
Major retailers including Walmart, Target and CVS have closed stores as protests over the police killing of George Floyd turned violent.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, shut hundreds of stores Sunday afternoon as protesters clashed with police and looting roiled some places. Damage from protests kept dozens of Walmart stores closed all day Sunday and it’s uncertain when they’ll reopen, said Scott Pope, a company spokesman.
“We’re monitoring this situation closely as it develops and will continue closing stores in select markets as a safety precaution for our customers and associates,” Pope said in an e-mail. “Several locations have been impacted, and we will work to assess the damage and plan to reopen as soon as possible.”
More than 200 Target stores were closed or had their hours adjusted over the weekend, company spokeswoman Danielle Schumann said. She did not provide a current number of closed locations, but the company’s Web site listed six stores in five states that are shut “until further notice.”
They include two stores in Minneapolis, where Target is based and where Floyd was killed while in police custody last week. The Lake Street location near the site of Floyd’s death has to be rebuilt and won’t reopen until later this year, Target says.
“In any of our other locations that are damaged or at risk, the safety and well-being of our team, guests and the surrounding community will continue to be our paramount priority,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in a Friday statement.
More than 250 CVS Pharmacy locations in 21 states were damaged by protests over the past several days, company spokeswoman Amy Thibault said. While no employees have been hurt, about 60 stores are closed and will reopen once it’s safe to do so and repairs have been made, she said.
“We’re continually monitoring the situation in each community we serve and will close stores, if needed, to ensure the safety of employees and customers,” Thibault said in an e-mail.
Most of the roughly 130 stores that Apple had reopened following the coronavirus crisis were shut on Sunday, Bloomberg News reported. Starbucks and McDonald’s also closed some stores amid safety concerns, according to the Journal.
Some Nike and Adidas stores also reportedly suffered damage. Several people were arrested outside Nike’s SoHo location Sunday night as looting struck the posh neighborhood.
The wave of closures came amid a record plunge in retail sales nationwide as coronavirus-related lockdowns kept consumers shut in their homes. Big-box chains like Walmart and Target had been able to keep operating during the virus crisis, but widespread restrictions forced many other retailers to close.
With Post Wires