Store closures are hitting San Francisco as office vacancies and fears of crime are on the rise.

[Pete Malloy]

Here's the full list of retailers pulling out of the city's downtown neighborhood.​

• Nineteen retailers have left San Francisco's Union Square area since 2020.
• The latest departures include Nordstrom, Office Depot, and Old Navy, reports say.
• Retailers cite concerns over employee and customer safety related to shoplifting and other crimes.

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.

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 in April.

Stores that have closed in downtown San Francisco over the last few years include:

• Old Navy
• Saks off 5th,
• Anthropologie.
• Amazon Go
• Whole Foods
• Office Depot
• Nordstrom
• Arc'teryx
• The RealReal
• CB2
• Banana Republic
• Athleta,
• The Container Store
• Crate & Barrel
• Abercrombie & Fitch
• DSW,
• Disney
• Uniqlo
• Marshall's
• H&M
• Gap

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.

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[ClarindaA's]

Gonna happen in Chicago too. But “we can’t blame deez kids, we got to protect dem.” - genius mayor of Chicago

 

[CoachJaxKnows]

Portland Oregon too.

 

[Pete Malloy]

Portland Oregon too.

And the one thing these failing cities have in common is they are all liberal strongholds.

 

[IowaPackFan]

And the one thing these failing cities have in common is they are all liberal strongholds.

In fairness to the Dems, Bernie Sanders is too far right for SF.

 

[hawkland14]

You are making this all up. This is the just Fox News talking points. Trump Trump Trump Trump….

Again liberal policies and weak liberal DAs across blue cities are low the cause of these issues. Everyone keeps talking about RDS not being electable. You don’t think he’s gonna bring this stuff up over and over again? Suburban educated folks who have abandoned the Rs because moron Trump will flock back to GOP in large part because of this issue. If Trump is nominee none of that matters and Rs will lose again.

 

[TonyTheTiger.1865]

Everyone is afraid of this issue because 99 % of this looting and shoplifting is be done by a specific demographic. They have been told their whole life by society that they are victims and are owed untold billions. This behavior should not surprise anyone.