SAN FRANCISCO—The Nordstrom store in San Francisco located at 865 Market Street closed its doors on Sunday, August 27 after 35 years at the location. The company announced the closure of the store at the San Francisco Centre Mall and a Nordstrom Rack location in May 2023. There were empty shelves and mannequins for shoppers who visited the established on the last day of operations.
Jaime Nordstrom, Chief Officer for the company’s stores indicated in May 2023, “The dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”
The headquarters for X, formerly Twitter is located several blocks from the now closed Nordstrom location. CEO Elon Musk tweeted on July 29, 2023, “Many have offered rich incentives for X (fka Twitter) to move its HQ out of San Francisco. Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving. Therefore, they expect X will move too. We will not. You only know who your real friends are when the chips are down. San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend.”
The city of San Francisco has seen a spike in thefts at various retailers in recent years. High-end retailers like the Louis Vuitton store at Union Square in San Francisco in 2021 was struck by bandits, who stormed the location stealing items in the establishment leading to the San Francisco Police Department making several arrest, after video was the incident went viral on social media.
In August 2023, thieves targeted an Yves Saint Laurent establishment in Glendale, California. In June 2023, Westfield Mall in San Francisco announced it would stop paying a $558 million mortgage because of the decline in sales in the region. Other retailers like Whole Foods, Old Navy and Nordstrom are also leaving the downtown San Francisco area.
The Los Angeles Police Department investigated a “Flash Rob” style theft that occurred at the Nordstrom store inside the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center on August 12. The LAPD reported the incident occurred after 4 p.m. at the store located at 21725 Victory Boulevard where over 30 people entered the establishment and started grabbing merchandise. More than $300,000 in merchandise was stolen from displays near the entrance of the store.
The suspects ran from the store, ransacking shelves and display tables as they took merchandise. The suspects were wearing ski masks and fled with high-end handbags, clothing, and other re-saleable items. One suspect, after entering the store, sprayed bear spray on the face and body of the security guard at the entrance.
Foot traffic in the region has dropped significantly in recent years. Other retailers who have left the region include Whole Foods and Office Depot. In 2022, sales for the Westfield location were at $298 million, which is a drop from the $455 million in 2019.
