Union Square to Lose More Stores: North Face to Close, Burberry Puts Building Up for Sale

A pedestrian carries a shopping bag while walking through Union Square in San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Outdoor recreation company The North Face and British luxury retailer Burberry are planning to vacate their Union Square properties, becoming the latest companies to flee San Francisco’s downtown shopping district.

North Face company officials said it would close its Union Square retail outlet on March 31.

The recreation retailer was established as a mountaineering retail store in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood in 1966 by hiking enthusiasts Douglas and Susie Tompkins. In 1968, it moved to the Berkeley area and began designing and manufacturing its own brand of technical mountaineering apparel and equipment, according to the company’s website.

The retailer now operates more than 3,500 stores around the world and is owned by the VF Corp.

The North Face recently received attention for offering discounts to customers who complete an online diversity, equity, and inclusion course that contains elements of critical race theory. Some also called for a boycott of the company last year after it featured drag queens in an advertising campaign.

The company will keep only a handful of outlets in the Bay Area, including in Santa Clara, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, and Palo Alto, after the Union Square closure, according to a company spokeswoman.

“The North Face was born in San Francisco, and we have cherished the time spent here, building roots, and creating lasting memories,”  spokeswoman Hailey Albright told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. “Despite the closure, The North Face will continue to operate and thrive in these remaining communities.”

Burberry to Sell Building

Another retailer in Union Square, Burberry, has been quietly marketing its 17,000-square-foot building, located at 225 Post Street, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Cushman & Wakefield reportedly confirmed to the newspaper that the brokerage has been hired to assist in the sale.

The building last sold in 2001 for $16.6 million, according to real estate records. The buyers, GUS PLC, a former British retailing and manufacturing company, owned Burberry at the time but spun it off in 2005.

Sources told the Chronicle that Burberry was considering leasing another building on Geary Street, home to high-end designer Yves Saint Laurent, which relocated to Grant Avenue last year.

Other retailers to leave the surrounding area include Forever 21, H&M, the Disney Store, and Nordstrom.

‘Change is Uncomfortable’

Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, an organization that serves retailers in the district, said closings were attributed to retail and workplace patterns and safety issues.

“The reasons behind these closings are multifaceted—major retail shifts, street safety challenges, changing foot traffic, and new work patterns post-pandemic—but so too are our solutions,” Ms. Rodriguez said in a statement emailed to California Insider.

The city’s zoning changes, plans to upgrade Powell Street, increased police and security presence, and a clean and safe campaign have made Union Square visibly more full and popular than it was a year ago, according to the alliance.

But much more needs to be done, Ms. Rodriguez said.

“Change is often sudden and uncomfortable before that change yields something new and positive,” she said. “Union Square, and the entire downtown, is at an inflection point. We all need to do our part to preserve our historic, legacy businesses as much as possible and that includes shoppers who need to visit if they want their favorite businesses to stay.”

Ms. Rodriguez blamed the media for publishing “sensational stories” that “don’t help” and asked the media to present a clear and balanced picture of what was happening on the ground.

The news comes one week after revelations surfaced about the likely departure of Macy’s department store from the downtown location.

On Feb. 27, news reports suggested that Macy’s in Union Square—the company’s last remaining outpost in San Francisco—would close after it found a buyer. Although the company told The Epoch Times that it had not yet decided to close the location, several elected officials said they were tipped off about the closure.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed weighed in on the reported decision, saying the city would continue to work with Macy’s and any potential buyer of its building to ensure that the location continues to serve the city.

“I’m also continuing to talk to leaders in retail, business, and real estate about how we can continue to focus on the long-term success of this site and others,” she said in a statement posted Feb. 27 on X.

Ms. Breed said it was important to continue to make law changes at local and state levels, as well as reform tax laws to recruit and retain businesses.

San Francisco residents appear to agree.

Although some ballots remain to be counted, early results show voters approved two ballot measures—Measures E and F—to deal with escalating crime and drug use in the city. Measure E would expand police powers, making it easier for officers to pursue suspects, and Measure F would require drug testing for some welfare recipients.