Nordstrom closes all stores in San Francisco as bosses blame ‘changing city dynamics’

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Nordstrom announced it would close its downtown San Francisco locations. Its mall will close by the end of August and its rack will close by July 1.

Nordstrom announced it as closing all of its San Francisco stores, blaming the city’s “changed dynamic” that has seen many big chains turn around in the face of rising crime.

The retailer told employees it would not renew its leases at Westfield Mall or the Nordstrom Rack across the street. The mall will close at the end of August and the Rack store will remain open until July 1, according to the Washington Post.

Nordstrom Stores Manager Jamie Nordstrom said the state of San Francisco has been blamed in recent years for reducing foot traffic “and our ability to operate successfully.”

Westfield Mall said in a statement to The Washington Post that the move was prompted by the “deteriorating situation in downtown San Francisco” which put customers and staff at risk.

Rampant crime in downtown San Francisco has caused many retailers to give up and relocate. In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing its stores, while Anthropologie and Office Depot also left. Remaining stores like Target have been reduced to locking down all their stock to deter shoplifters.

The Nordstrom Rack in downtown San Francisco, which will close on July 1

“Decisions like this are never easy, and this one was especially difficult,” Nordstrom wrote in his email.

“But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past few years, which has impacted customer footfall in our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”

Westfield Mall was much more blunt in its statement to the Washington Post, pointing directly to the increase in crime running out-of-town businesses, which it called “unsafe conditions for customers, retailers and employees.” .

The mall said “these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery in the region.”

Nordstrom joins the growing list of stores that have abandoned the coastal city, including H&M, Marshall’s, Gap and Banana Republic, among others.

Despite official reports that San Francisco’s crime rate is falling, a former prosecutor said this month that the city’s liberal prosecutor’s decision not to prosecute many crimes has skewed those numbers.

Gap was the first to announce its departure in August 2020, followed shortly by H&M and Marshall’s. Over the years, more and more stores have slowly pulled out.

Market StreetAnthropologie will close on May 13, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. As a result, the store will no longer have a location in the city.

Office Depot, located on Third Street, will also close, but the exact closing date is unknown. The store has a larger store on Geary Boulevard, which will not be closing.

Market Street Anthropologie (pictured) will close on May 13 Office Depot, located on Third Street, (pictured) will also close, but the exact closing date is unknown

Downtown San Francisco has struggled to rebound from the pandemic as shoppers haven’t flocked to the once-popular shopping spot.

San Francisco as a whole has struggled to bounce back as city residents continue to battle a crime epidemic, recently revealed with the murder of Cash App CEO Bob Lee and the brutal attack in broad daylight against the city’s former fire marshal.

Although crime was down almost 8% from the same period last year, stores have begun to lock down merchandise.

A Target store in San Francisco has locked its entire product line behind security.

A video posted on TikTok on April 20 shows all the items locked away from customers.

According to geotagged images, some products from the Folsom Street store had been behind glass since at least October last year, WNCT reported.

A Target location in San Francisco was forced to move its inventory behind the classroom to combat shoplifting

Organic food giant Whole Foods opened a new ‘flagship’ location at Trinity Place in the city’s Tenderloin district in March 2022, hoping to revitalize footfall after two years of draconian COVID-19 restrictions that seriously affected businesses in the region.

But a spokesperson for Whole Foods said the store closed last night due to safety concerns for its staff. “We are closing our Trinity site only at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “If we feel we can keep our team members safe in the store, we will assess a reopening of our Trinity site.”

A city hall source told the San Francisco Standard that the company cited deteriorating street conditions around drug use and crime near the store as driving factors for the closure.

Industry groups have noted there is a problem with theft, with the National Retail Federation saying organized retail crime costs stores about $100 billion a year, according to a 2022 survey.

In 2021, retailers saw a 27% increase in thefts committed by organized criminal networks, according to the survey. To solve the problem, they invested more money in safety and security measures to protect employees, customers and goods.

Although crime is down, compared to the same time last night, shops have started to lock up goods and pack their bags to avoid rampant crime

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