Macy’s has not yet decided whether to close its flagship Union Square location in San Francisco, according to the department store giant’s corporate office.
The company announced on Feb. 27 plans to close 150 stores nationwide over the next three years in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results report.
“A final decision on specific locations has yet to be made,” the company’s communications department told The Epoch Times in an email.
The closing stores represent about a quarter of the company’s square footage and about 10 percent of its sales, according to CBS News. Macy’s currently operates 481 locations and expects to continue investing in 350 of them over the next three years, according to the communications department.
Reports of the possible Union Square location closure arose Tuesday as city and state officials considered how to retain businesses in the city in the wake of yet another major retail loss.
Several other retailers and companies—large and small—have closed or relocated away from San Francisco in the past two years as crime and homelessness continue to escalate.
The Union Square Alliance, an improvement district serving Union Square businesses, said the store’s closure wasn’t expected for years.
“Macy’s at Union Square is not closing their store until a buyer can be found for their building,” Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. “Macy’s will remain open and could still be open for years to come.”
Ms. Rodriguez expected another holiday shopping season and Macy’s holiday tree in 2024.
“Having said that, the situation is fluid and there is no getting around the fact that this announcement hurts,” she said.
Macy’s has been synonymous with Union Square since it first opened in 1929, when the company was named O’Connor, Moffat & Co.
Ms. Rodriguez said she believes they should work toward a solution that allows Macy’s to keep the iconic store open. But if that doesn’t happen, the alliance’s expectation is that a new owner will continue a fresh and vibrant vision at the location.
San Francisco County Supervisor Aaron Peskin told The San Francisco Standard that Macy’s had informed him Tuesday of its plans to close once it finds a buyer. The closure would affect about 400 jobs, according to the newspaper.
The New York-based department store giant also revealed its “Bold New Chapter” strategy to reposition the company and enhance customer experience.
“This strategy is designed to create a more modern Macy’s, Inc. that is expected to generate meaningful value for our shareholders in the years ahead,” said Chief Executive Officer Tony Spring in the year-end report.
The company, which also operated Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, plans to open at least 15 new Bloomingdale’s and 30 new Bluemercury stores, and remodel another 30 Bluemercury stores in the next three years.
In 2023, Macy’s announced the closure of eight locations, which included two California stores at Bay Fair, in San Leandro, and Simi Valley Town Center, in Simi Valley.
The Simi Valley department store is expected to close at the end of March. The San Leandro store, which is expected to close in March or April, is located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The store opened in 1957 and reportedly suffered from slow foot traffic and ongoing retail theft.
Last year, Nordstrom closed two of its department stores in San Francisco because changing dynamics of the downtown market reduced customer foot traffic.
Since the closure, Westfield Mall, where one of Nordstrom’s stores was shuttered, also announced its plans to pull out of the city.
