H&M temporarily close all South Africa branches following unrest over 'racist' hoodie

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H&M stores in South Africa have been temporarily closed following unrest triggered by the clothing brand’s controversial ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ hoodie ad.

Protesters flocked to stores over the weekend and police were forced to use rubber bullets to clear the crowds outside a branch of the fast fashion chain in Boksburg on Saturday.

The protests were organised by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which is a radical militant group started by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema in 2013.

In Johannesburg, for example, protesters trashed H&M stores, pulling down mannequins, wrecking displays and pushing over clothes rails, The Local reports.

After protests took place at various branches of H&M across the country, the company made the decision to temporarily close all stores in order to keep staff and shoppers safe.

“What matters most to us is the safety of our employees and customers,” a statement from H&M South Africa said.

“We have temporarily closed our stores in South Africa. None of our staff or customers have been injured. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will open the stores as soon as the situation is safe again.”

Yesterday, South Africa’s opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) announced it would be reporting H&M to the International Chamber of Commerce, stating that they believe the ad breaks marketing guidelines.

“The DA will also write to H&M South Africa to express our deep concern over this tasteless advert which evokes painful sentiments among Black South Africans as well as the Black community abroad,” the party said in a statement.

“The displays of violence at H&M stores across the country are totally unacceptable and violence is no way to fight racism but only compounds it.”

H&M has revealed that it is monitoring the situation in its UK stores.

A spokesperson for H&M UK and Ireland told The Independent: “H&M is aware of the recent events in several of our South African stores. Our priority is the safety of our employees and customers.

“We are monitoring the security situation closely and the stores are open if we have assessed the situation to be safe.

“We strongly believe that racism and bias in any shape or form, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable. We would like to stress that our store staff had no part in this poorly judged product and image.”

Since the picture of young black boy Liam Mango modelling the hoodie was spotted online, H&M has faced a barrage of criticism, with the decision being branded “racist” and “unacceptable.”

High profile celebrities have condemned the brand, and Canadian singer The Weeknd ended his partnership with them.

H&M swiftly apologised for any offence caused.