George Floyd protests force Walmart and Target to close stores

Leading retailers including Walmart, Target and CVS reportedly closed stores as protests over the police murder of George Floyd turned violent.

Walmart, the country’s largest retailer, close hundreds of stores On Sunday afternoon, when protesters clashed with police and looting, they toured some places. The damage caused by the protests kept dozens of Walmart stores closed throughout the day on Sunday and it is not known when they will reopen, a company spokesperson said.

“What has worried in the last 24 hours is that it is not just at night,” said a Walmart spokesman. he told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. “We’ve even had trouble this morning in broad daylight. We want to make sure that our associates are safe.”

Target boarded many of the more than 200 American stores that closed over the weekend, although some had reopened Sunday night, according to the Journal. The company’s website on Monday morning. list six locations in five states that remained closed.

They include two stores in Minneapolis, where Target is located and where Floyd was killed while in police custody last week. The Lake Street location near Floyd’s death site is to be rebuilt and won’t reopen until later this year, Target says.

“At 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 top priority,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said Friday. statement.

CVS said it has closed stores in more than 20 states and the District of Columbia amid the protests, but the pharmacy chain did not provide the number of locations affected.

“We are continually monitoring protests as they occur in the communities we serve and will close stores, if necessary, to help ensure the safety of employees and customers,” CVS said in a statement.

Most of the approximately 130 stores that Apple had reopened after the coronavirus crisis closed on Sunday, Bloomberg News reported. Starbucks and McDonald’s also closed some stores amid security concerns, according to the Journal.

Some Nike and Adidas stores were also reportedly damaged. Several people were arrested outside Nike’s SoHo location on Sunday night when the looting hit the chic neighborhood.

The wave of closings came amid a record drop in retail sales across the country as coronavirus-related blockades kept consumers locked up in their homes. Large chains like Walmart and Target had been able to continue operating during the virus crisis, but widespread restrictions forced many other retailers to close.

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