Superbalist accused of disregarding Black Lives Matter, group apologises for being 'tone deaf'

Angry Superbalist customers have threatened to boycott the online retailer after allegations from employees that the company refused to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement and were prevented from speaking about it.

The group issued a public apology amid widespread condemnation on Thursday, admitting that it was initially tone deaf until staff took action.

“We were wrong in this regard and we would like to sincerely acknowledge and apologise unreservedly for that. We do not and will never in any respect condone any form of racism and discrimination,” the apology reads in part.  

The company added that it has policies which prevent any form of discrimination and promotes the appointment of people of colour.

Codie Roelf, a software engineer at Superbalist, told TimesLIVE that the tension started last week when employees asked what the company's stance was on BLM.

This was in the wake of the murder of African American man George Floyd, by a white police officer in the US, and protests in the US and a number of other countries. The company's response was that it took no stance on the matter as it didn't affect the business directly.  

After the meeting, there were rumours that the company would respond, but these were squashed when it didn't. Roelf says this prompted employees to jointly write to management to oppose its “no stance” attitude.

“A few people put together a message via [an internal communication channel] and tagged the two CEOs, Dave and Penny Cohen, asking for a response and explaining how they feel.

“We commented on it and said we aren't happy as employees [about the company not taking a stance on BLM] and we asked what message are we sending, since we use a lot of people of colour to promote the company.”

Roelf says there was no response from the CEOs and employees were allegedly blocked from using the platform.

On Wednesday, the company held a Zoom meeting where employees were discouraged from using the internal platform to discuss BLM. Management said its silence should not be interpreted as them promoting racism or discrimination.

During this meeting, employees were unable to respond or ask questions as their mics were muted. Only management was allowed to address them.

Roelf said Dave and Penny Cohen were present at the meeting.

TimesLIVE is in possession of an audio recording of the meeting, which was circulated on WhatsApp.

The company said its management was not racist as it “shows up for members of the community” by donating millions to organisations which benefit people of colour.

It further reminded employees that they got paid full salaries during the month of April, despite some being unproductive working from home during the lockdown.

In his response to TimesLIVE on Thursday, Dave Cohen said the company has a role to play in supporting efforts that promote conversations about race.

“Today was the start of just that, a listening process that we sincerely hope will be so much better at managing these types of conversations. We all have a role to play and we will continue to support these efforts- not just as a company, but for our whole society.”

“We are deeply appreciative of all our people and their activism in the context of BLM and are committed to working closely with them at getting better.” 

Here's some of the views shared on social media by the company's employees, former employees and customers: