The statement from the fast-fashion retailer comes as multinational businesses are increasingly ensnared in the volatility of Hong Kong's situation.
HONG KONG, China - Fast-fashion giant Zara said store closures in Hong Kong on Monday weren’t related to ongoing anti-Beijing protests in the city, after speculation on Chinese social media that the retailer employees were supporting the demonstrators.
“Zara has never made any comments or undertaken any actions related to a strike in Hong Kong,” the company said in a post on its Weibo account Monday.
“Zara does not back a strike and supports ‘one country, two systems,”’ the post said, referring to a general strike called by unions as part of the protests, and China policy for governing Hong Kong.
The denial comes as multinational businesses become increasingly ensnared in the volatile conflict that morphed from a protest against an extradition law into a broader challenge to Beijing authority in the city.
Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong biggest carrier, faced heavy pushback from China after its staff joined the demonstrations, while HSBC Holdings Plc to PwC, have been the subject of online speculation over their positions on the protests, which have rocked the former British colony for almost three months.
Zara, owned by Spanish fashion conglomerate Inditex SA, seems to have been targeted after Chinese social media users noticed several of its Hong Kong stores were closed on Monday. Speculation spread that it was because staffers were taking part in the general strike.