Under Armour closes all its US stores amid coronavirus, joining Nike and others
Under Armour on Sunday evening announced it will close all of its company stores in North America from March 16 through March 28 as a precaution amid the global spread of coronavirus.
The move follows the same announcement from Nike earlier on Sunday morning.
Under Armour says all retail store employees will still get paid while stores are closed.
“We continue to offer work from home and flexible attendance options and have implemented enhanced cleanliness and sanitation steps in both our corporate offices and distribution centers to further protect our teammates,” the company said in a statement. “We are monitoring the situation globally, and closure decisions are being made on a country-by-country basis as necessary to protect our teammates and customers. We welcome customers to continue to visit UnderArmour.com.”
A Chinese tour guide leads a tour group past a store from American sportswear retailer Under Armour at an outdoor shopping area in Beijing, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018. A Chinese trade envoy said Tuesday that talks with Washington are impossible while the United States “holds a knife” to Beijing’s neck by imposing tariff hikes. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Under Armour and Nike are on a rapidly-growing list of retail chains that have temporarily shut a large number of their stores due to the virus, including Apple, Walmart, Publix, and Kroger.
The leading sports apparel giants all expect to be hit hard in Q1 and perhaps into Q2 from the virus, particularly because they source so many of their goods from China. Under Armour initially warned of a $60 million hit to its Q1 revenue due to the virus, while Adidas last week warned of a much bigger $1 billion hit to its China sales in Q1.
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Daniel Roberts is an editor-at-large at Yahoo Finance who focuses on sports business. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
Reggie Wade is a writer at Yahoo Finance who focuses on the sneaker business. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.
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