The Old Navy flagship store in San Francisco has become one of the latest in many major storefronts to flee the downtown area in the city, adding to the deepening retail exodus crisis on mid-Market and in Union Square in the city.
Old Navy is all set to exit the 72,369-square-foot location when its current lease expires on July 31, 2023. .
As per a statement released by the fashion retailer’s parent company, Gap Inc, “Since our Market Street store opened in the 1990s, the way we leverage flagship locations has changed. As a result, we have taken the difficult decision to close our Market Street store when the lease expires, and we are already working to identify new locations in downtown San Francisco that will better serve the needs of the business and our customers.
Why is Retail on Union Square Collapsing?
Nearly half of Union Square’s stores have closed since 2019, with many more upscale stores following suit soon – including furnishings store Coco Republic, which announced on May 10 that it would leave its three-story showplace at 55 Stockton St., which just opened last fall.
Earlier this month, Nordstrom too announced it will close both of its stores in downtown on July 1, 2023. The company has blamed the closure of both its stores on “dynamics of the Downtown San Francisco market”.
As per reports, San Francisco’s Union Square shopping hub has been slow to recover from both the COVID shutdowns as well well-publicized cases of brazen retail theft in the recent months. Many stores – like Wholefoods – have fled the area citing concerns for their retail employees. The Old Navy is situated on the same block as the Walgreens where Banko Brown was shot and killed by a security guard on April 27
Gap Inc Statement
Gap Inc said in its statement that it has “deep roots in San Francisco and is committed to the city. We recently invested in renovating our Downtown San Francisco hub where our teams come together to develop new consumer experiences and product innovations. As part of that remodel, we opened four new stores at our headquarters where customers can experience the latest fashion and experiences from each of our brands, including new Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta stores. In addition, Banana Republic has announced plans for a new flagship store on Geary Street in Union Square.”
“We want to thank the Old Navy Market Street employees for their dedication as well as our many customers who visited the store over the years. After the location closes to the public on July 1, we invite customers to shop our nearby locations in San Francisco, Daly City, Colma and Emeryville, or at OldNavy.com,” the statement concluded.
