Banana Republic becomes latest chain to close in crime-ridden downtown San Francisco

Banana Republic has become the latest chain to shut down in a crime-ridden part of San Francisco, joining a string of brands citing safety and reduced footfall as reasons for uprooting.

The clothing store announced it would be moving out of Westfield San Francisco Center as the city’s flagship store at 256 Grant Ave. would also shrink to a store at 152 Geary St.

Dozens have closed or plan to close in recent months, including Saks, H&M and Nordstorm, citing reduced foot traffic, online shopping and security concerns.

The Gap, owner of Banana Republic, closed a number of Banana Republic stores during the pandemic and announced last month that it would lay off 1,800 workers at its San Francisco headquarters as net sales fell 6% to $15.6 billion for the last fiscal year.

The upmarket department store blamed changing ‘dynamics’ in the city for the closures. Westfield store pictured

Upscale retailer Nordstrom is also cutting 400 jobs as it prepares to close all of its stores in San Francisco.

A total of 379 jobs will be cut at the department store, also at the Westfield San Francisco Center mall and at the Nordstrom Rack store a few doors down.

The company said it was closing both stores earlier this month, blaming the “changed dynamic” in the crime-ridden city.

Stores Manager Jamie Nordstrom said: “Decisions like this are never easy, and this one was particularly difficult.

“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 said in its statement to The Washington Post that departing businesses could be pinned on “unsafe conditions for customers, retailers and employees.”

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

In April, Whole Foods announced it would be closing its downtown San Francisco flagship store “for the time being” to ensure the “safety” of staff.

“If we feel we can keep our team members safe in the store, we will assess a reopening of our Trinity store,” a spokesperson said.

The city’s millionaire tech entrepreneurs have also started indicating they will be leaving for London, UK, as crime and homelessness rise.

“Tech workers have become disenchanted with San Francisco,” Coutts private banker Annie Ingram told The Telegraph this week, citing concerns about rising crime, homelessness and drug use. outdoors in the Golden Gate City.

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri has made a high-profile move from the Bay Area to upmarket Kensington in London, despite being called back to the US by Meta bosses.

Organic food giant Whole Foods opened a new ‘flagship’ location at Trinity Place in the city’s Tenderloin district in March 2022

Bags of beef jerky are locked in plastic cases at the Target store in Metreon in San Francisco on May 8, 2023, as soft crime policies correlate with an ongoing crisis of daily shoplifting

A recent study found that San Francisco is the most expensive US city to raise a child in, costing over $35,000 a year.

At the same time, residents say San Francisco is increasingly looking like a ghost town, with dozens of retailers leaving town due to crime and poor foot traffic.

A disturbing recent report showed that 95 retailers in downtown San Francisco have closed since the start of the COVID pandemic, a drop of more than 50%.

Of 203 retailers that opened in the city’s Union Square neighborhood in 2019, only 107 are still in business, down 47% in a few pandemic-ravaged years.

In early May, T-Mobile closed its flagship store in Union Square, a 17,000 square foot building in the heart of the city.

They said it was part of a ‘national retail strategy to better care for customers’.

The T-Mobile building previously housed Apple’s flagship store, before the tech giant moved to its current location on Post Street.

Since early May, San Francisco has been marred by a series of store closures since the pandemic as the city has failed to deal with rising crime and drug problems.

The Anthropologie store in Union Square (pictured) in San Francisco is now closed

Earlier this month, women’s retailer Anthropologie closed shop in San Francisco’s Union Square retail space amid a trend of store closures citing security concerns.

The site, now closed, was to close permanently on May 13. They invite customers to visit nearby outlets on Fourth St and Village in Corte Madera.

Although Anthropologie didn’t give a reason, they join retailers such as RealReal, Gap and Whole Foods that have closed nearby stores.

The city is also affected by a statewide shoplifting law that has downgraded merchandise theft. worth less than $950 (£764) from a felony to a much lesser crime.