H&M Temporary Shuts There Doors to the Public in South Africa
Fashion News
H&M stores in South Africa have been temporarily closed
following unrest triggered by the clothing brand’s controversial ‘coolest
monkey in the jungle’ hoodie ad.
Protesters flocked to stores over the weekend and police
were forced to use rubber bullets to clear the crowds outside a branch of the
fast fashion chain in Boksburg on Saturday.
The protests were organised by the Economic Freedom Fighters
(EFF), which is a radical militant group started by expelled former African
National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema in 2013.
In Johannesburg, for example, protesters trashed H&M stores, pulling down mannequins, wrecking displays and pushing over clothes rails, The Local reports.
After protests took place at various branches of H&M
across the country, the company made the decision to temporarily close all
stores to keep staff and shoppers safe.
H&M stated that same day “H&M is aware of the recent
events inside several of our South African stores. What matters most to us is
the safety of our employees and customers. We have temporarily closed our
stores in South Africa. None of our staff or customers have been injured. We
continue to monitor the situation closely and will open the stores as soon as
the situation is safe again.
We strongly believe that racism and bias in any shape or
form, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable. We stress that our
wonderful store staff had nothing to do with our poorly judged product and
image.,” an official statement from H&M found on their site.
Yesterday, south Africa’s opposition party the Democratic
Alliance announced it would be reporting H&M to the International Chamber
of Commerce, starting that they believe the ad breaks marketing guidelines.
The DA will also write to H&M to express our deep
concerns over this tasteless advert which brings painful statements among Black
South Africans as well as the Black communities abroad.
The statement made by the DA “This display at the H&M
stores across the country are totally unacceptable and violence is not the way
to fight racism, but it only compounds it.
H&M is “monitoring the security situation closely and
the stores are open if we have assessed this situation to be safe.”
“We strongly believe that racism and bias in any shape or
form, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable. We would like to
stress that our store staff had no part in this poorly judged product and
image.”
Since the picture of Liam Mango the little boy in the picture
was spotted online, H&M has faced a barrage of criticism, with the
decisions being branded as “racist” and “unacceptable.”
High profile celebrities
hove condemned the brand, the American singer G-Eazy and the Canadian
singer known as The Weekend ended their partnership with them.