Glossier is temporarily closing its stores amid the coronavirus outbreak in a watershed moment for the retail industry
- In a letter to customers on Friday, Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss wrote that the company will be temporarily closing its stores in New York, London, and Atlanta to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
- Glossier will also delay the opening of its new Arizona location, originally slated for next Wednesday. Employees at all stores will be compensated for the lost shifts.
- "To everyone reading: We're not alarmists, we're realists," Weiss wrote. "While this may not be the right decision for every company, it's the one where we feel we can make an impact."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Glossier is temporarily closing all its retail locations as the coronavirus continues to rapidly spread across the US.
In a letter to customers on Friday, founder and CEO Emily Weiss wrote about the "difficult decision" to close its stores in New York, London, and Atlanta in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Glossier will also delay the opening of its Arizona store, which was slated for Wednesday.
"This is a tough call for many reasons," Weiss wrote. "In our New York City flagship alone, 2,000 people gather daily from around the world, often lining up down the block to connect with Glossier and with one another."
Weiss wrote that all Glossier employees will be compensated for lost shifts during the temporary two-week closure.
"From a company perspective, by closing our stores, we'll sacrifice some near-term business goals, but we're prepared to put public health ahead of our bottom line," she wrote.
Weiss cited an op-ed published in The Atlantic this week titled "Cancel Everything" which served as her inspiration to close the store. In the piece, writer Yascha Mounk details the urgency of closing public spaces and practicing social distancing in order to mitigate the outbreak in the US.
Weiss wrote that though social distancing is "the opposite" of Glossier's mission, she decided to overturn her previous stance that "if stores start closing, we'll quickly follow suit" and definitively shutter her stores.
"To everyone reading: We're not alarmists, we're realists," Weiss wrote. "While this may not be the right decision for every company, it's the one where we feel we can make an impact. To fellow business owners, remember your core values during this time-this is when they matter most."
