Nordstrom closes its San Francisco retailer after 35 years

By Jordan Valinsky | CNN Enterprise

New York  — Nordstrom closed the doorways of its five-story division retailer in San Francisco on Sunday, ending a 35-year run as the town suffers a retail exodus.

The retailer introduced the closure in Could, saying that the “dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have modified dramatically over the previous a number of years, impacting buyer foot site visitors to our shops and our skill to function efficiently.”

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Buyers instructed CNN affiliate KGO-TV that it was a “unhappy day” and that the 312,000-square-foot Nordstrom was an “anchor in San Francisco.” The once-vibrant retailer was crammed with empty shows, sealed-off areas and clients taking a journey on its memorable spiral escalator one final time.

A close-by Nordstrom Rack closed final month.

After Nordstrom introduced it was closing, shopping center operator Westfield mentioned it could surrender management of its San Francisco mall, citing “difficult working situations in downtown San Francisco, which have led to declines in gross sales, occupancy and foot site visitors.”

As soon as a bustling retail heart within the coronary heart of the town, the San Francisco Centre has taken a big hit previously few years. Complete gross sales have fallen from $455 million in 2019 to $298 million in 2022, and foot site visitors has plunged from 9.7 million visits in 2019 to five.6 million in 2022, in accordance with Westfield.

Westfield’s exit marks one other important setback for San Francisco, which noticed its financial system hit arduous by the pandemic as many Silicon Valley corporations allowed versatile work-from-home insurance policies, leading to many white-collar staff filtering out of the town. Three years later, company America has but to return in the identical numbers: Workplace vacancies in San Francisco have reached a 30-year excessive.