San Francisco’s Old Navy becomes the closest store to closing in a crime-ridden city.

Business

as if Catherine Donlevy

May 27, 2023 | 1:21 am

A three-decade-old Old Navy store in San Francisco is closing this summer — adding to the list of retailers closing across the crime-plagued city.

The Market Street location — located three miles from the company’s headquarters — will close July 1 when its lease expires.

“Old Navy is constantly reassessing its real estate portfolio,” said Gap Inc., which owns a number of retailers including Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta.

In the year “The way we use prime locations has changed” since he opened the Market Street location in the 1990s, but he says he’s working to find a new location to replace a vacant storefront in downtown San Francisco.

The closure of Old Navy comes weeks later. Inc. said it would cut 1,800 jobs across the country as part of a cost-cutting reorganization.

The job cuts follow the loss of more than 500 corporate positions four months ago amid declining sales and profits.

The Old Navy location isn’t the only longtime Bay Area store that has suffered enough losses to close in recent weeks.

Nordstrom is preparing to close two locations in the city: the department store at Westfield Mall and the Nordstrom Rack a few doors down on Market Street.

The closures will eliminate around 380 jobs as the clothing retailer struggles to cope with rising shoplifting due to foot traffic.

Saks of 5th, Anthropologie, Cocoa Republic and Whole Foods Market have joined the list of retailers dropping their San Francisco storefronts, with the latter announcing plans to close a year after opening.

At least 20 stores in the city’s Union Square area have closed since 2020.