H&M closed down all of its stores in South Africa after the stores were ransacked by a group protesting a H&M online advertisement featuring a black boy wearing a hoodie.
The Swedish-based clothing retailer announced all stores in South Africa were temporarily closed after the protesters trashed the stores on Saturday.
Activists and consumers were outraged over an H&M ad featuring a black boy wearing a hoodie that read: “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle”.
The boy’s mother later dismissed the controversy, telling Americans to “Stop crying wolf all the time”.
The protesters, organized by a social justice group called Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), ransacked stores in Cape Town, Pretoria, Sandton, Midrand and Boksburg. Only the Sandton location reopened on Monday.
H&M issued a statement on Saturday, saying that none of their employees were injured during the riots.
“We make no apology about what the fighters did today against that store called H&M,” said Julius Malema, a political activist in S. Africa. “Every shop that undermines black people must be attended to,” he added. “It must be shut down. It must be closed.”
While many on social media understood the anger directed toward the retailer, some activists praised H&M for donating money and resources to South Africa in the past.
“EFF’s message was loud and effective but went against what should be happening which is discussions,” tweeted @TkMatakanye on Saturday. “H&M contribute to the country and money that flows. They provide jobs and give people access to funds – even if only one H&M store closes or closes for a while it affects a family.”
The H&M ad led celebrities such as Canadian rapper The Weeknd to cut ties with the retailer.
