As the region continues to see a rash of retail thefts by brazen thieves, Nordstrom will close both of its downtown San Francisco stores in the coming months, citing the “dynamics” of the downtown market.

Chief Stores Officer, Jamie Nordstrom informed employees in a memo that the company will not renew its lease for the Market Street Rack store across the street and the San Francisco Centre Nordstrom store.

Specifics of Nordstrom

The message states, “We’ve spent more than 35 years serving customers in downtown San Francisco, developing connections with them, and investing in the local community.” However, as many of you are aware, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have shifted significantly in recent years, affecting how many customers come to our stores and our capacity to function effectively.

The San Francisco Centre location will close at the end of August, and the Market Street Rack will close on July 1.

The Westfield shopping center, where the midtown Nordstrom is found, and its proprietor, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said the terminations “highlights what is going on in Midtown San Francisco,” the San Francisco Standard announced.

“Due to the hazardous circumstances for customers, retailers, and staff members, as well as the fact that these major problems are preventing an economic recovery of the area,” a mall representative remarked, “an increasing amount of retailers and businesses are leaving the area.”

“For a long time, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has effectively collaborated with city pioneers to communicate our serious concerns, which are shared by our clients and retailers.” We have once again pushed the city to find answers to the serious issues and lack of authority,” the statement said.

According to the retail security survey conducted in 2022 by the National Retail Federation, San Francisco/Oakland came in behind Los Angeles as the metropolitan area that was most affected by theft in 2020 and 2021. New York City was third while Houston set fourth.