(Daily Mail) At least one more is set to, with Williams-Sonoma announcing they’ll shut down in 2024.
Out of 203 retailers open in 2019 in the city’s Union Square area, just 107 are still operating, a drop of 47 percent in just a few pandemic-ravaged years.
Among the heavy hitters, Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin, Lululemon and Marmot have all packed it in.
Another 12 new retailers have opened in the area since the pandemic began in 2020 but already two have them have either closed or plan to shut down.
Major stores continue to back out of crime-ridden San Francisco, with a disturbing report showing 95 retailers downtown – more than half – have closed since the start of the COVID pandemic. This map shows a small selection of the big-name departures
The Union Square Alliance claims that about seven more new retail locations are hoping to open by next year but it will still end up being a net loss of about 90 businesses since COVID first hit.
Rampant crime in downtown San Francisco has left numerous retailers throwing up their hands and moving out.
In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing its locations, while Anthropologie and Office Depot have also left.
Remaining stores like Target have been reduced to locking up their entire stock behind glass to deter shoplifters.
One important note is that the figures from The San Francisco Standard don’t include the 100 stores in the Westfield San Francisco Centre Mall.
They also didn’t count cannabis dispensaries, two of which also packed up and left the city during the pandemic, or service-driven businesses.
‘Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult,’ wrote Nordstrom in his email.
‘But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.’
Westfield Mall was much more blunt in its statement to the Washington Post, pointing directly to rising crime running business out of town, which it referred to as ‘unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees.’
Out of 203 retailers open in 2019 in the city’s Union Square area, just 107 are still operating, a drop of 47 percent in just a few pandemic-ravaged years
Among the heavy hitters, Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin, Lululemon and Marmot have all packed it in
Another 12 new retailers have opened in the area since the pandemic began in 2020 but already two have them have either closed or plan to shut down
The Nordstrom Rack in downtown San Francisco which will be closing on July 1
Whole Foods previously closed a flagship store in downtown San Francisco
The mall said ‘these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.’
Nordstrom joins the growing list of stores that have abandoned the the coastal city, including H&M, Marshall’s, Gap, and Banana Republic, among others.
Despite official reports that San Francisco’s crime rate is on the way down, one former prosecutor said this month that the city’s liberal district attorney’s decision not to prosecute many crimes skewed those numbers.
Gap was the first to announce its departure in August 2020, shortly followed by H&M and Marshall’s. As the years went on, more stores slowly pulled out.
The Market Street Anthropologie will be closing its doors on May 13, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. As a result, the brand will no longer have a location in the city.
Office Depot, located on Third Street, will also be shuttered, but the exact closing date is unknown. The brand has a bigger store on Geary Boulevard, which will not close.
The Market Street Anthropologie (pictured) will be closing its doors on May 13
Office Depot, located on Third Street (pictured) ,will also be closing
Downtown San Francisco has had a hard time bouncing back after the pandemic as shoppers have failed to flock back to the once-popular shopping location.
The city as a whole has struggled to recover as the city’s residents continue to battle a crime epidemic, brought into sharp focus recently with the murder of Cash App CEO Bob Lee and the brutal broad daylight attack on the city’s former fire commissioner.
Although crime is down nearly eight percent, compared to the same time last year, stores have begun locking up merchandise.
A Target store in San Francisco has locked up its entire product range.
A video posted on TikTok on April 20 shows all of the items secured behind glass.
According to geotagged imagery, some products at the store on Folsom Street were secured by lock and key since at least October of last year, WNCT reported.
