Macy’s in San Francisco is set to shutter this month following an announcement by Democratic San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin.
Peskin released a statement on X, noting Macy’s would be downsizing by 150 locations, including the city’s downtown store in Union Square.
Peskin stated:
“Macy’s was one of the last holdouts against the national trend of retail closures and consolidations, but as with every seeming blow to our downtown recovery, I see a potential opportunity.”
“This site is an opportunity development site, with potential for mixed-use, food & beverage and residential on the upper floors, even before the pandemic.”
“Macy’s has confirmed that the building will remain open until the end of the year, and it will be put up for sale,” Peskin stated.
Every devastating phone call has an opportunity somewhere and every challenge has a flip side – with the right political will and public-private collaboration.
— Aaron Peskin (@AaronPeskin) February 27, 2024
Let’s get to work. pic.twitter.com/mOZfb676qF
The Daily Caller reported:
The Democrat board president said that city officials will collaborate with the Union Square Alliance to “invest in the neighborhood” by marketing the development incentives and opportunities. He also noted that the store will likely stay open until the building is sold, which could take years, ABC 7 reported.
Of the 150 stores slated for closure, 50 are expected to shut down by the end of 2024, with the others closing over the next three years, Macy’s stated in a press release. The company is now planning to prioritize investments within “approximately 350 go-forward locations” while continuing the “expansion of small-format stores.”
More than 400 employees will be impacted by the decision to close Union Square, ABC 7 reported.
Six employees at the store told The San Francisco Standard that the closure was due to retail theft.
“I’m not in charge of making the estimates of how much we lose in a day, but last year we were told the losses were in the millions,” one said.
The news comes a month after a famous family-owned toy store in San Francisco that inspired Disney’s “Toy Story” announced closure after 85 years.
The Daily Fetched reported:
The owners said the closure was due to the “perils and violence of the downtown environment,” inflations, and consumer spending.
The reasons for the store’s closure are the same as those of Jeffrey’s Toys, which also shuttered last year.
The store on Kearny Avenue will close Feb. 10, according to Mr. Sterling.
“The family is saddened it has come to this,” he said in an emailed statement.
“The leadership of the City of San Francisco and the Downtown Association have their work cut out for them on how to revitalize what was once a vibrant and fun downtown experience.”
The owners are working with landlords and creditors, Sterling said.
The store also announced its closure last week on Facebook, saying:
“All things must go.”
READ: San Francisco: Over 9M Lethal Doses of Fentanyl Seized in 2023
