Retailor Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA, drugstore chain CVS Health Corp CVS and Walmart Inc.’s WMT will stop the practice prevalent at some stores of locking up beauty products meant for people of color.
What Happened
The practice of locking up of beauty and hair care products in glass cases has drawn customer criticism over the death of George Floyd, an African American, by a white policeman in May, reported MarketWatch.
Walgreens announced Thursday, “We are currently ensuring multicultural hair care and beauty products are not stored behind locked cases at any of our stores.”
On Wednesday, Walmart said it would end the practice at 4,700 of its stores. A federal discrimination lawsuit filed in 2018 over the issue was dropped last year.
Many stores lock up items such as batteries and razor blades, but experts say that locking up items meant for the use of African-Americans in their neighborhoods is a widespread practice that needs to be abolished.
Niel Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail, called such practices “out of step with the times we are living now.”
Why It Matters
In 2018, Essie Grundy, a Walmart shopper, sued the company after noticing that beauty products catering to African Americans were under lock and key at a Peris, California store, reported MarketWatch.
Another motivation behind undoing discriminatory policies may be increased spending by minorities on beauty products. CVS says its seen a 35% growth over the past year in textured hair products and cosmetics, many of which are black-owned businesses.
Price Action
On Thursday, in the regular session, Walgreens Boots Alliance shares closed 7.97% lower at $40.75. CVS closed 6.44% lower at $63.16, while Walmart closed 0.88% lower at $120.09.
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