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As Protests Continue, Retail CEOs Express Empathy, Opposition To Racism

Over the past several days, executives from diverse retail companies issued statements and social media posts to employees and customers, seeking to compassionately address the strong feelings stirred up by the death of George Floyd and racism in general. Even as their stores were being looted as many protests turned into nightly riots, retailers avoided criticizing those actions or the perpetrators.

On June 1, however, as protests entered their second week, Matthew Shay , President and CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF), touched on the destruction of property in a statement. “Defacing, looting and plundering businesses, whether viewed as a direct outgrowth of fury or an opportunistic act of vandalism and theft, impedes progress and healing,” he said. “We urge people to stop looting and destruction under the name of protest.”

The retail leaders that issued statements all addressed the highly charged emotions in play, with several touching on the underlying racism that was the trigger for the protests.

“We must remain vigilant in standing together against racism and discrimination,” wrote Doug McMillion, President and CEO of Walmart. “Until we, as a nation, confront and address these hard realities, we will never achieve the best of what we can be.”

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“I am saddened to see the pain, frustration and anguish boil over in our communities,” wrote Larry Merlo, CEO of CVS Health, parent of CVS Pharmacy. “The turmoil we are witnessing grows out of a long and deep history in our country, and as a nation we must focus on the injustices and discrimination that continue to divide us.”

In an open letter, Erik Nordstrom, CEO, and Pete Nordstrom, President and Chief Brand Officer of Nordstrom, referenced “the deeply ingrained racial prejudice and injustice that still exists in our communities today. It is stirring many emotions, which it should.”

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, issued one of the lengthiest letters. “To our colleagues in the Black community — we see you. You matter, your lives matter, and you are valued here at Apple,” he wrote. “For all of our colleagues hurting right now, please know that you are not alone, and that we have resources to support you.” Cook said Apple will make donations of unspecified amounts to multiple groups.

Using Instagram, Lululemon and the Gap also announced charitable donations. Lululemon is donating $100,000 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, calling it an organization known to “stand against inequity and injustice of any kind.” Gap is donating $250,000 to support the NAACP and Embrace Race, a charity that gives families resources to educate children about racial issues.

Like Target, Best Buy is headquartered in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where protests began on May 26. The next day, the retailer issued “a message from the senior leadership team,” listing 17 executives by name. The statement was unusual both for its frankness and its personal acknowledgement of white privilege.

The writers noted that “we are as a group, by and large, not people of color. We write this not because most of us have known anyone personally in a situation like this. Thankfully, most of us do not.” The Best Buy leaders followed by imagining how they could “begin to internalize how terrifying life can be” for a black man, woman or child in America. “In keeping with our deep commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, the company will continue to invest resources and time on this topic, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” they concluded.

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