Whole Foods' decision to close its flagship store in downtown San Francisco made national news, but it is far from the only retailer to pull out of the area recently.
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The shopping district around Union Square has lost several major retailers over the last few years as reports of crime and drug use in the area have caused safety concerns for both retailers and patrons. The area has lost 17 retailers since 2020, The San Francisco Standard reported last month.
Stores that have closed in downtown San Francisco over the last few years include:
Most retailers haven't referenced crime specifically as their public rationale for closing. Instead, many have pointed to"the safety of our team members," which was the reasoning Whole Foods gave for closing its flagship store.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which owns the mall where Nordstrom is located, said that the department store's closure "underscores the deteriorating situation in downtown San Francisco," according to Bloomberg. It also cited "unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees" in the vicinity of the Nordstrom store.
Walgreens, for instance, closed five stores in the city in late 2021, citing shoplifting. Earlier this year, though, CFO James Kehoe said that the drugstore chain overstated the problem.
At the same time, vacancy rates in San Francisco's office buildings reached a new record high last month, NBC Bay Area reported. As in other US cities, the rise of remote work during the pandemic has meant fewer people in the city's downtown looking for lunch or stores to run errands.
Other retailers, meanwhile, are moving ahead with new store openings: Gap told the Business Times last month that it planned to open a new store under one of its brands in Union Square. And later this year, Ikea is planning to open a store with a structure similar to a mall on Market Street, SFGate reported in February.
Are we missing a store closure? Do you work in downtown San Francisco or have a story to share about store closures? Please contact Alex Bitter at abitter@insider.com or via text/encrypted messaging app Signal at (808) 854-4501.