Apple, other retailers close stores to contain coronavirus
“We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a letter.
Apple has announced that it is closing all its retail stores, except those in Greater China, for the next two weeks to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission. The announcements escalated the global response to the outbreak, as most companies had previously kept stores open.
"We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27," Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a letter.
"I want to thank our extraordinary Retail teams for their dedication to enriching our customers' lives. We are all so grateful to you," Cook added.
Apart from Apple, other companies such as Urban Outfitters and Verizon Communications and T-Mobile also announced that they were closing their retail stores temporarily.
Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc, which owns brands including Anthropologie and Free People, said on Saturday it was closing all its consumer stores worldwide until at least March 28. Verizon Communications Inc said it was temporarily closing "a number of its stores" across the United States in order to expand its work from home policy to include some of its retail employees.
T-Mobile US Inc said it will temporary close its stores that are located in a shopping mall starting March 16.
US retailers including Macy's Inc, Saks Fifth Avenue and Gap Inc's Banana Republic sent notices to shoppers on Thursday saying they were open for business in a move to stem losses due to a steep drop in traffic.
Meanwhile, Apple said that its hourly workers will continue to receive pay in alignment with business as usual operation and online sales will continue as usual, Cook wrote in the letter.
"In all of our offices, we are moving to flexible work arrangements worldwide outside of Greater China...That means team members should work remotely if their job allows," he added.
(With Reuters Inputs)
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