Hobby Lobby is spreading across South Florida as if nothing happened.
The hobby and crafts retailer has found itself at the center of a maelstrom since winning a U.S. Supreme Court case June 30 that combined the flash points of birth control and religious freedom.
The court ruled 5-4 that for-profit, closely held companies like Hobby Lobby don’t have to provide employees coverage for some forms of birth control if it violates the owners’ religious beliefs.
Democrats in Congress are developing legislation to override the decision, but Hobby Lobby is moving on.
The chain opened its first South Florida store April 14 in Davie. It plans others July 25 in Miami and Sept. 26 in Boca Raton. Opening dates have not been announced for two more, in Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs.
Opponents of the Supreme Court ruling have protested outside stores in some parts of the country, but not in Davie, according to owners of the shopping center where it operates.
The local Planned Parenthood group called the court ruling “tragic” and “alarming” but plans no public demonstration.
“We’re deeply worried for the women who are their employees who are losing access to birth control,” said Lillian Tamayo, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Florida and Treasure Coast.
Still, the ruling is not likely to affect most customers’ willingness to shop at Hobby Lobby, said Steven Kirn, executive director of the David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research at the University of Florida.
“I have no doubt some subset of people will boycott them or figure out another way to get craft supplies,” Kirn said. “But a lot of people will just say, ‘Whatever.’ Necessity will win out.”
Even if protests occur, Kirn said, they will be short-lived.
“The general pattern of boycotts and protests is they tend not to be super sticky,” he said. “There’s a burst and then it trails off. People’s memories are not that long.”
Laura Tellez of Plantation shopped Wednesday at the Plantation store. She said the views of management will not change her decision to shop there.
“Everyone has the right to follow their own beliefs,” Tellez said. “It doesn’t affect me.”
Elizabeth Green of Plantation does not agree with Hobby Lobby’s position, but she continues to patronize the store out of concern for employees.
“They shouldn’t have to lose their job because the CEO wants to be a jerk,” Green said.
Co-founded by David and Barbara Green in the early 1970s, Hobby Lobby is owned and controlled by a single, Christian family. The chain sells a wide range of arts and crafts supplies, home furniture and decor at 600 stores nationwide.
“The court’s decision is a victory, not just for our family business, but for all who seek to live out their faith,” Barbara Green said in a statement.
Comments like that are precisely the tact Hobby Lobby should take, said J.P. Hervis, president of Insider Media Management, a public relations firm in Boca Raton that offers crisis management services
The retailer should “stand firm on the company’s beliefs while publicly recognizing that some members of the public do not agree with the company’s stance,” Hervis said.
Hobby Lobby should have no trouble finding employees for its new South Florida stores, said Joyce Chastain, president of the HR Florida State Council.
“I’m not certain that we can presume the items Hobby Lobby doesn’t want covered are going to be an issue for most employees,” she said. “Most employees just want to know if they have benefits … Employers all the time choose what they cover and don’t.”
Hobby Lobby says its stores typically employ about 40 people, including cashiers, stockers and custom picture framers. Full-time employees start at $15 per hour and part-timers get $10 an hour.
, 954-356-4705, Twitter @KerryClose
, 954-356-4526, Twitter @MiriamValverde
Hobby Lobby
Now open:
Davie: 1901 S. University Drive.
Soon to open:
Miami: 13899 SW 88 St, July 25
Boca Raton: 21759 State Road 7, Sept. 26
No opening date announced:
Coral Springs: 9100 Wiles Road
Deerfield Beach: 3555 W. Hillsboro Blvd.
Source: hobbylobby.com
