Apple’s store closures is the Gold Standard of social responsibility.
Apple just made a difficult decision
With just six days to go until Christmas, Apple just closed all 53 Apple Retail stores in California, dozens of stores across Utah, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Alaska, Nebraska, New Mexico, and another 16 stores across the UK, Mexico and Brazil. “Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas. We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible,” an Apple spokesperson explained in an emailed statement.
What caught my attention about the press coverage around Apple’s action is the almost total lack of attention to what is so incredible about this. Apple shutting down stores isn’t just a reaction to the COVID-19 case explosion, it’s a critically important part of Apple’s “Supplier Responsibility” stated mission:
“Apple is committed to the highest standards of social responsibility across our worldwide supply chain. We insist that all of our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes. Our actions — from thorough site audits to industry-leading training programs — demonstrate this commitment.”
California is experiencing an explosion of new COVID-19 cases. As a result, the number of asymptomatic spreaders walking around has become so great that it becomes impossible to keep your doors open without guaranteeing more people get infected, both Apple Store customers and Apple Store employees. Apple can only do so much gate-keeping.
Apple’s entire supply chain, as presented on their Supplier Responsibility web page (call out in red added by me)
So Apple had to make a decision, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy one. While Apple keeps a lot of metrics close to its chest, one metric Tim Cook shared, way back in 2013, was the foot traffic through its then 407 stores (they have 271 in the US this year, and 510 across the globe). The average number of customers walking into a single Apple Store back then, in 2013, was 2,457. Apple does nearly 2X more sales per square foot than Tiffany and almost 4X more than Lululemon. And remember, California has 53 of its 271 US stores. That’s 20% of its entire US retail operations closed down.
Apple is demonstrating the Gold Standard for social responsibility
Many news outlets are focusing on Apple’s share price in the stock market the result of this decision, or just simply regurgitating the obvious, and I think overlooking and not reporting on Apple’s documented ongoing priority and practice around social responsibility is a shame. There is a lot to learn from Apple’s action, especially given the timing. I believe Apple just demonstrated to us what the Gold Standard of social responsibility looks like for a business during COVID-19.
What if I get a new Mac or iPhone for Christmas?
Apple is still shipping and delivering products, and I have never been as excited about Apple’s products than I am this year. I am writing this blog post on a new M1 MacBook Pro, and my brand new iPhone 12 Pro (in Pacific Blue) is showing up any day.
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