Amazon, Apple, Walmart, Other Retailers Shutter Stores, Scale Back Operations In Areas Worst Hit With Protests

A number of companies in the United States have decided to shutter their retail outlets and scale back on business in cities most disrupted by the protests organized in the wake of George Floyd's death.

What Happened

Floyd, an unarmed black Minneapolis man, died following an encounter with the police. In video footage of the incident, the policeman, Derek Chauvin, could be seen kneeling at Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes even as the victim gasped for breath and later became unconscious.

Apple

Apple Inc. AAPL said it was keeping a number of its stores in the country closed on Sunday in light of the protests, without specifying how many stores, CNBC reported. It didn't say whether the closures would be extended beyond Sunday if the protests continued.

The company has only been operating about half of its 271 U.S. stores due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The move follows the looting of a number of Apple retail outlets across the country, including in Minneapolis, Washington D.C., and Brooklyn.

Amazon

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN sent out a notice to its part-time delivery executives across a dozen cities, including Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles, working under the Flex program, to stop making deliveries "immediately" and return home, as reported by CNBC.

The company adjusted the Flex schedule, under which drivers can deliver Amazon products using their own vehicles as an independent contractor and get paid, to match curfew timings across cities, CNBC noted.

Amazon's subsidiary supermarket chain Whole Foods also said it was temporarily closing or reducing operating hours at a number of outlets across the country.

Walmart

Walmart Inc. WMT had closed some of its stores in Minneapolis and Atlanta on Friday, after a few of them became a target of looting.

The retailer on Sunday said it was further closing several hundred stores across the country, according to CNBC.

Walmart said it would access the situation on an everyday basis, and some of the outlets could be reopened as soon as Monday if there's no physical damage.

Target

Target Corporation TGT, in a statement late Saturday, said it was shuttering 175 stores and reducing hours at a few others until further notice.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said the company was working to ensure that workers displaced as a result of the protests, including more than 200 from its Minneapolis Lake Street store, are supported, including "receiving full pay and benefits in the coming weeks."

Among other retailers, Nike Inc. NKE said it has temporarily shut some of its stores, and Adidas AG ADDYY closed all its outlets, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Price Action

Apple shares closed 0.1% at $317.94 on Friday. Amazon stock closed 1.7% higher at $2,442.37 per share.

Walmart closed 0.3% higher at $124.06 per share, and Target closed 3.3% higher at $122.33.

Nike was trading nearly 0.4% higher at $98.58 on the day's close and Adidas shares closed 1.7% higher at $133.18 in the otc market.