Bloomingdale's is closing its flagship San Francisco store, adding to the woes of the city's struggling retail sector. The closure is attributed to a combination of factors, including reduced foot traffic, remote work trends, and safety concerns.
Bloomingdale's , the renowned department store chain, is set to close its flagship store in San Francisco 's Centre mall, marking a significant development in the city's struggling retail sector. A spokesperson for Bloomingdale's confirmed to CBS News Bay Area that the closure is slated for late spring, ending nearly two decades of operation within the city's largest shopping mall.
The store expressed hope for a future return to serve the San Francisco community, promising to explore innovative ways to enhance services for loyal shoppers. This departure, the last remaining anchor tenant at the mall, intensifies the challenges facing San Francisco's downtown, reflecting a broader trend of retail businesses leaving the city. Real estate consultancy CBRE attributes this decline in retail districts to reduced foot traffic, exacerbated by the rise of remote work, decreased tourism, and concerns about crime. The closure of Bloomingdale's is expected to have a ripple effect on existing lease negotiations at the mall. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the mall has recently only secured leases with small tenants and is actively seeking a new buyer.Bloomingdale's closure follows a string of high-profile store shutdowns in San Francisco's downtown area. Earlier this year, Macy's, Bloomingdale's parent company, closed its flagship store in Union Square plaza. Other notable closures in early 2024 included San Francisco's only Adidas store, cosmetics retailer L'Occitane, American Eagle Outfitters, North Face, and Sephora. Last week, the fashion brand Michael Kors announced its intention to close its store at the San Francisco Centre mall, and both Safeway and a longstanding Starbucks location have also revealed impending closures.Local figures have expressed diverse perspectives on the situation. Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, highlighted to ABC7 News the prevailing narrative that San Francisco's best days are behind it, citing the city's current problems. Conversely, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, while acknowledging the disappointment of Bloomingdale's closure, emphasized the presence of vibrant businesses opening and expanding throughout the city on X. CBRE, in its January 2024 analysis, recognized the challenges facing downtown San Francisco while emphasizing the strengths of the broader retail market, attributing its long-term prospects to a local economy with potential for job growth and higher incomes. Lu Chen, a San Francisco resident and senior economist at Moody's Analytics, previously shared with Newsweek that the pandemic significantly altered the city's tempo and, to some extent, its lifeline. The mall's spokesperson, speaking to KGO-TV in 2023, cited unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees as contributing factors to the departure of retailers and businesses, highlighting its impact on the area's economic recovery.The fate of the Centre Mall remains uncertain. Originally scheduled for auction in late 2024, the sale has been repeatedly delayed by lenders, according to The San Francisco Standard. The retail sector's ongoing struggles in San Francisco underscore the complex challenges facing the city's urban landscape
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