Superbalist apologises to staff over Black Lives Matter stance

• Superbalist had previously said it had no stance on the Black Lives Matter movement.
• The company has since apologised, saying it would never condone racism or discrimination.
• The movement has flared up globally after the killing of US man George Floyd by police.

Online retailer Superbalist has apologised to its staff for saying it had no particular stance on Black Lives Matter.

In a statement posted to its Twitter page on Wednesday evening, Superbalist CEOs Dave and Penny Cohen said staff had asked them last week what their stance was on Black Lives Matter.

"Our response was that we had no particular stance, meaning that we do not, as a company, comment on issues outside of business. That has always been our policy," the Cohens added.

READ | Funeral held for George Floyd

"We were wrong in this regard, and we would like to sincerely acknowledge and apologise unreservedly for that.

They said they have processes and company policies in place to prevent discrimination and prioritised the appointment of black people in their business.

They added that as a group, 85% of their employees were black.

"We are, however, far from perfect in this regard and have much work to do at various management levels, something that we have committed to already doing."

The Cohens thanked their staff for encouraging them to recognise it was their responsibility to take a stance on this topic and again apologised for being "initially so tone deaf".

"We have learnt a valuable lesson and will be more sensitive in dealing with such an important matter now and in the future," they said.

Black Lives Matter is an international human rights movement that campaigns against violence and racism directed at black people.

Recently, it has been protesting throughout the US and other countries around the world following the killing of George Floyd who died after being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the US on 25 May.

Graphic footage of the incident, which went viral, show police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes as he repeatedly told the officer he could not breathe.

Chauvin has since been charged for murder.

*Superbalist.com is part of Naspers. News24 is a subsidiary of Media24, which is also part of Naspers.

- Compiled by Alex Mitchley