Another chain store has closed in crime-ridden San Francisco.

• Old Navy will close its San Francisco store on July 1 after three decades.
• The parent company is part of Gap’s cost-cutting reorganization.
• Dozens of retailers are leaving San Francisco, citing high crime rates.

Retail star Old Navy is closing its flagship store in downtown San Francisco, becoming the latest chain to pull out of the crime-ridden city.

The Market Street location has been open for three decades, but will close for good on July 1 when its lease expires.

Dozens of retailers have pulled out of downtown San Francisco in recent months, citing high rates of theft in the area.

A spokesperson for parent company Gap Inc., located three miles from the closing store, told the New York Post: ‘Old Navy always evaluates its real estate portfolio to ensure a healthy store fleet to offer the best possible service. experience for our customers.

‘Since our Market Street store opened in the 1990s, the way we use key spaces has changed.’

He added that the company has ‘deep roots’ in San Francisco and is ‘committed to the city’.

The closing is part of Gap’s cost-cutting reorganization and will eliminate a total of 1,800 jobs — saving up to $300 million.

The company’s net sales fell six percent to $15.6 billion last fiscal year.

Last month, Banana Republic — also owned by Gap — closed a location in San Francisco’s Westfield mall.

A few doors down in the same center, high-end retailer Nordstrom is also preparing to close — resulting in a total of 379 job losses. The nearby Nordstrom Rack store will also be closed.

In announcing the closings, Chief Stores Officer Jamie Nordstrom said, “As many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed significantly over the past several years, impacting customer food traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”

Meanwhile, Westfield Mall told The Washington Post that rising crime is ‘creating an unsafe environment for customers, retailers and employees.’

Stores across the county have fallen victim to the so-called ‘retail apocalypse’. It was fueled by a perfect storm of high inflation, rising crime rates and low footfall.

But the shutdown has seen a 15 percent rise in crime in San Francisco — according to data from the city’s police department.

The city has been hit by a statewide shoplifting law that downgraded thefts worth less than $950 (£764) from a felony to a much less serious misdemeanor.

An alarming recent report shows that 95 retailers in downtown San Francisco have seen sales decline by more than 50 percent since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the year Of the 203 retailers that opened in the city’s Union Square area in 2019, only 107 are still operating, a 47 percent decline in a few outbreak years.

In April, Whole Foods said it would close its flagship store in downtown San Francisco ‘for the time being’ to ensure the ‘safety’ of workers.

A spokesperson said: ‘We will review the reopening of the Trinity location once we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in the store.

Similarly, a Target store in the city was forced to lock down more of its products to keep out thieves.

A worker at the site said it was being robbed ‘every ten minutes’.