Fashion | Zara denies rumors stores closed due to protests

Fast-fashion giant Zara denied speculation on Chinese social media that the retailer’s employees were supporting anti-Beijing protests that disrupted some of its store operations on Monday.

“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. “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’s policy for governing Hong Kong.

Multinational businesses are becoming increasingly ensnared in the volatile conflict that’s morphed from a protest against an extradition law into a broader challenge to Beijing’s authority in the city. Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong’s biggest carrier, faced heavy pushback from China after its staff joined the demonstrations, while companies ranging from 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.

All 14 Zara stores in Hong Kong opened that day, the company said in an emailed comment, though four sites did so later than usual because transport disruptions delayed employees’ journeys to work. MDT/Bloomberg