Apple Inc. said it would re-close nearly a dozen stores across four states where cases of the coronavirus have climbed, showing wariness in the business community about the safety of reopening in some places. The Wall Street Journal reports.
Retailers from Best Buy Co. to Macy’s Inc. have set plans to reopen hundreds of U.S. locations by the end of June. Those that were forced to close in March have taken various approaches to reopening, with some wanting to move faster or more deliberately than local policy makers would allow.
Apple has taken a more conservative to store operations than other retailers. In mid-March, it was among the first to close its roughly 270 stores in the U.S., and upon reopening some stores in May, it required that staff and customers and staff wear masks and undergo temperature checks.
The closure of 11 of its stores—two near Charlotte, N.C., one near Greenville, S.C., two near Naples, Fla., and six across Arizona—showed that it is evaluating local information about positive Covid-19 test results and taking measures to protect staff and customers from infection, as well as its brand from negative publicity of an outbreak at stores, analysts said.
“We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation, and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement. The company declined to comment further on the decision.
Other retailers are likely to follow Apple in toggling operations on and off based on local data, said Jean-Emmanuel Biondi, principal in Deloitte Consulting’s retail practice.
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