Amid coronavirus, Adidas joins Nike in announcing store closures
Stores will be closed March 18-29 in Europe and March 17-29 in the U.S. and Canada
German sportswear maker Adidas announced Tuesday that it will join its rival Nike in closing its stores in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Adidas and Reebok-owned stores in Europe, North America and Canada will be closed temporarily, the company said in an emailed statement. Stores will be closed March 18-29 in Europe. In the United States and Canada, they will be closed March 17-29.
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REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
“At Adidas, the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners have the highest priority,” the group said, adding that affected staff would be paid for their planned working hours despite the closures.
CORONAVIRUS CAUSES MACY'S TO CLOSE ALL STORES THROUGH MARCH
This is a change in course after Adidas Group CEO Kasper Rorsted previously told employees in an email on Monday that Adidas would not shut its doors.
“We have to keep the company going and open for business to ensure that we can pay our monthly bills and salaries to everyone,” Rorsted wrote. “Closing down is easy, staying open in a healthy environment requires courage, persistence and focus."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADDYY | ADIDAS AG | 119.73 | +2.50 | +2.13% |
Rorsted went on to write, “For all coronavirus-related decisions we will—as a general principle—follow local regulations as different regions/countries/markets are impacted at a different level at any point in time."
Adidas joins a growing list of retailers who have been impacted by the coronavirus.
*This article, originally published on 3/16/20, has been updated.