Thailand: Retailers and Restaurants Hit in Protests, Adding to Coronavirus Damage

• Jun 02, 2020

Many retailers and restaurants, already crippled by the coronavirus pandemic, are grappling with damage to their properties and new closures following protests sparked by the death of George Floyd that have sometimes turned violent.

From Minneapolis, where Mr. Floyd died while handcuffed and in police custody, to California and Georgia, big and small retailers and restaurants have shut locations in anticipation of violence or are working to rebuild after destruction over the past week.

Target Corp., Walmart Inc., Nike Inc. and small family businesses have collectively closed hundreds of locations or are recovering from looting and physical damage related to protests. Adidas said it was temporarily closing all its U.S. stores, while Amazon. com Inc. said it had scaled back or adjusted delivery routes in a handful of cities to protect employees.

Many executives and business owners expressed solidarity with protesters, who object to broader issues of racism and social justice.

Around a dozen Walmart stores have been damaged, with more closed pre-emptively over the past few days. On Sunday evening, Walmart closed several hundred stores throughout the country. The damage so far has included looting and other property damage, but no employees have been hurt, a Walmart spokesman said Sunday.

“What’s disturbing over the last 24 hours is it isn’t just at night,” the spokesman said. “We’ve even had issues this morning in broad daylight. We want to make sure our associates are safe.”

Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said in a statement Friday that “this week is further proof we must remain vigilant in standing together against racism and discrimination.”

Target Corp., which is based in Minneapolis, over the weekend closed more than 200 U.S. stores, boarding up many of them pre-emptively, said a spokesman. The situation is fast-moving and some stores have reopened, in some cases with more limited hours, the spokesman said.

Last week, a Target store in south Minneapolis on Lake Street was one of the first U.S. businesses to be looted and badly damaged. Around seven Target stores have been damaged around the country, according to the company’s website.

“Most of those stores have damage where we anticipate we can open in the coming weeks, with the exception of the Lake Street store,” which Target aims to open by the end of the year, said the spokesman. Store workers will be paid for up to 14 days during store closures and can work at other locations, the company said.

“We are a community in pain,” Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell said in a statement Friday. “The murder of George Floyd has unleashed the pent-up pain of years,” he said.

Walmart and Target stores were open during the coronavirus pandemic that forced thousands of retailers and restaurants to shut in March and April, leading to millions of job losses.

Some of those businesses were just starting to reopen this month as protests kicked off following Mr. Floyd’s death during an arrest. Authorities have charged one of the arresting Minneapolis officers, Derek Chauvin, with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Mr. Chauvin was seen on video pressing his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck while Mr. Floyd begged for help.

In some cities, smaller businesses bore the brunt of the damage. In Minneapolis, a family-owned liquor store, an Indian restaurant, a chiropractor and other businesses were left in rubble near the closed Lake Street Target.

Cynthia Gerdes, co-founder of Hell’s Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis, shut down her 18-year-old restaurant because of the coronavirus in March. She had drawn up plans to start offering takeout in July, but is now weighing how Mr. Floyd’s death and the resulting unrest will impact the city’s business and reputation going forward.

“It’s a double whammy. It’s a gut punch,” said Ms. Gerdes, whose business depends on conventions and office workers downtown.

Ms. Gerdes said her building near one of the city’s main police stations is now boarded up, with some windows smashed. She put up a sign in her restaurant’s windows supporting the protesters, but wonders about how long the impact will last.

“It’s just so surreal at this point,” said Ms. Gerdes, who said she was exploring options for her establishment and 138 employees.

Bob Grewal, a Subway franchisee and development agent for the sandwich company in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., areas, said one of the chain’s stores in downtown Washington was looted and had its windows smashed Saturday night. The store had just begun to reopen with limited hours after being closed for the coronavirus.

“They were just starting back up. It’s just horrible,” he said.

Police arrested looters that had targeted another Subway location in the hard-hit Fairfax District in Los Angeles on Saturday night, Mr. Grewal said. That store had just invested in food to get running again. Owners are contacting insurance companies and assessing the damage now, he said.

“It’s crazy. I was hoping to start opening back up. And then this happens,” he said.

“These business owners have nothing to do with this,” Mr. Grewal said. “They are suffering. The communities are suffering.”

A Starbucks Corp. spokeswoman said that it closed some of its stores Saturday for the safety of its workers after people damaged a handful of locations.

McDonald’s Corp. said Sunday that the burger company and its franchisees closed a small number of restaurants temporarily and are beginning to reopen them where safe.

“We are working closely with our franchisees to understand the impact,” the company said.

Joe Erlinger, the president of the U.S. division, said that he was personally shaken by the unrest and planned to hold discussions across the company about how to allow for diversity and inclusion.

“Quite simply, I am appalled by recent events in Louisville, Georgia, New York and Minneapolis,” Mr. Erlinger said in a letter over the weekend. “I feel shaken and I know many of you do, too. I share your concerns, sadness, and anger.

Some Nike and Adidas stores in major U.S. cities were looted and damaged in the protests. A Nike spokesman said employees weren’t harmed. The company, which previously made NFL quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick the face of an advertising campaign, launched a “Don’t Do It” ad, offering a spin on its popular catchphrase.

“For once, Don’t Do It…Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America,” the company said in a film shared on Twitter on Friday.

Adidas retweeted its competitor’s ad, along with the message: “Together is how we move forward. Together is how we make a change.”

Khadeeja Safdar contributed to this article.

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1927992/retailers-and-restaurants-hit-in-protests-adding-to-coronavirus-damage