Walmart, Apple among national chains closing stores in cities hit by riots, protests

Companies, including Apple and Walmart, have announced store closings in the wake of widespread protests and riots over the death of George Floyd in police custody, media outlets reported.

National protests erupted this week after video emerged of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he begged for air Monday during his arrest on suspicion of fraud.

Floyd, a black man, later died. Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, has been arrested in the death. He and three other Minneapolis police officers also have been fired.

Some of the protests, which have spread from Minneapolis across the nation, have resulted in clashes with police, fires and looting.

Dozens of U.S. cities have enacted curfews, and the National Guard has been called out in at least 12 states and Washington, D.C., The Washington Post reports.

Some Walmart and Target stores are planning to reopen, media outlets reported.

Here’s what you need to know about store closings across the country.

Apple

Apple said on Sunday that many of its stores wouldn’t be opened due to the protests, CNBC reported. “With the health and safety of our teams in mind, we’ve made the decision to keep a number of our stores in the US closed on Sunday,” Apple said in a statement.

Apple reopened around 100 of its 271 stores in around 20 states last week, according to CNBC.

CVS

CVS told USA Today stores across 20 states have been closed.

“Each closed pharmacy’s phone system has been rerouted to a nearby CVS Pharmacy that is open so all patients will continue to have access to pharmacy care,” Amy Thibault, senior manager of corporate communications for CVS Health told USA Today. “We are continually monitoring protests as they occur in the communities we serve and will close stores, if needed, to help ensure the safety of employees and customers.”

CVS has more than 9,900 retail locations in 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to the company.

Whole Foods

Whole Foods said Sunday it was closing some stores temporarily and changing store hours at other locations, CNBC reported. Stores near Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles are closed and the Bryant Park store in New York City isn’t taking online delivery orders due to the protests, a spokesperson told CNBC.

Whole Foods, now owned by Amazon, has more than 500 stores in the United States and United Kingdom, according to the company.

Amazon

The company is limiting deliveries and changing some routes during the protests, USA Today reported.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and in a handful of cities we’ve adjusted routes or scaled back typical operations to ensure the safety of our teams,’‘ the company said in a statement, according to USA Today.

Walmart

Walmart said hundreds of stores would be temporarily closed due to the protests, according to the Associated Press.

In addition, “several dozen” Walmart stores were closed due to damage, spokesman Scott Pope told the Associated Press. Pope said he didn’t know when those stores would reopen.

Walmart has more than 4,700 stores in the United States, according to the company.

Some Walmart stores in Chicago are planning to reopen, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.

“We’re working to assess the situation with each location and are planning to reopen stores as soon as possible, recognizing the important role we play in so many impacted communities in providing for everyday needs,” a Walmart representative told the outlet in a statement.

Target

In a statement Sunday on its site, Target initially said it would close 175 stores in 13 states, including 71 in Minnesota, 49 in California, 12 in New York and a scattering of others across the country for the time being.

The company later revised the release to remove the list of specific closures except for several stores already damaged by the protests. Those locations will remain closed indefinitely.

“We are heartbroken by the death of George Floyd and the pain it is causing communities across the country,” Target said in its statement.

Employees at closed stores will be paid for scheduled shifts for the next 14 days, including coronavirus bonuses, and will be able to work at nearby stores, Target says.

Most Target stores in Minneapolis and Saint Paul have reopened, but the Lake Street and Uptown store locations remain closed, CBS Minnesota reported.

Both of the stores were looted and the Uptown store is “closed until further notice,” according to a statement from Target, CBS reported. The Lake Street store will be closed until at least the end of the year.

Target has 1,871 stores in the United States, bringing in $75.4 billion in total revenue in 2018, according to its site. Founded in 1962, Target is based in Minneapolis.

Nike

Nike told CNBC that stores impacted by the demonstrations would be closed.

“Nike supports free and peaceful protests and we do not condone violence,” Nike said in a statement, according to CNBC. “We are closely following the protests occurring across the country.”

Nike launched an anti-racism advertisement on Friday on Twitter, The Hill reported.

In contrast with the company’s “Just do it” slogan, the ad featured phrases including, “Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America,” and “Don’t turn your back on racism.”

In 2019, Nike had 1,152 stores worldwide, according to Statistic.

Adidas

The company said it was closing all stores temporarily, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In 2019, the company had more than 2,500 Adidas and Reebok stores worldwide, according to Statista.

This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 9:10 AM with the headline "Walmart, Apple among national chains closing stores in cities hit by riots, protests."