The Drive-Thru: Retailers scramble to address racism, hundreds of stores and restaurants shutter, and everything else you need to know

Happy Friday! Are you guys tired? I'm tired.

It's been a busy week for companies scrambling to finally acknowledge systematic racism that critics have been discussing for years. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe here to get me (Kate Taylor) and my colleague Shoshy Ciment explaining everything that is happening in the world of retail every Friday.

Here's a rundown of what went down this week.

Companies scramble to roll out new practices after accusations of racism

It seems like every day this week brought a wave of new apologies and policy changes from companies that had been called out on racist behavior, despite public support of protests against inequality and police brutality.

Customers have been pointing out the biases people of color experience while shopping for some time. A few stories we saw this week were:

• Anthropologie responds to accusations of racial profiling on Instagram
• Walmart says it will no longer lock up Black beauty products in display cabinets
• Mary reports on Party City firing an employee over a racist video rant about Black people

On a corporate level, some staffers are pushing for change and other executives' jobs are on the line. For example:

• Sephora commits to 15% of store items to be from Black-owned businesses
• CrossFit CEO steps down after he reportedly downplayed protests condemning racial injustice and police brutality
• An Amazon exec slams the arrest of a Black delivery driver who was pinned to the ground during a traffic stop
• Amazon's internal climate activist group urges employees to support Black Lives Matter movement

If you want to go deep on one company, read Shoshy on Adidas' response. She got her hands on the 32-page deck to North American leadership, as well as a scoop on an executive who was let go due to a "violation of company policy." This comes as Adidas pledges $20 million to support Black communities, following criticism from its own employees over how the company has handled racist incidents.

If you have a story about a company you believe needs to do more to address racism, email us at retail@businessinsider.com.

Restaurants and retailers are shuttering locations

The retail and restaurant apocalypses roll on, as many more store closures were announced this week. Newly announced closures include Zales, Zara, Brooks Brothers, and Starbucks. Plus, Irene reports, as many as 85% of independent restaurants may permanently close because of the pandemic. A whopping 25,000 US stores could shut down this year, beating last year's record of 9,000 closures.

Here's the full list of retailers, from Hayley. Plus, from Irene, the list of chain restaurants that have announced plans to close 900 locations.

Everything else you need to know

• Rachel published a massive investigation into the toxic culture of racism at Bon Appétit
• Shoshy talked to Hershey, Mars, and Frito-Lay about business during the pandemic.
• I wrote about fast food and political donations.
• Patagonia CEO steps down.
• People aren't wearing suits any more because of the pandemic.
• Chains are hiring!

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