Williams-Sonoma Latest Retailer To Leave Downtown San Francisco

Williams-Sonoma is a kitchen and home furnishings retailer that confirmed on Friday it would be leaving its Union Square location in downtown San Francisco next year.

The San Francisco Standard (original links).

The Williams-Sonoma Union Square will close its doors in 2024. This was confirmed by the retailer on Friday.

Williams-Sonoma has left Union Square or plans to do so. Many of the stores blamed poor street conditions and decreased foot traffic.

The retailer announced its closure shortly after Nordstrom announced that it would be closing both of its Downtown San Francisco stores. Whole Foods closed its flagship store on Market and Eighth Streets in early April, just one year after opening. The closure was attributed to deteriorating local conditions.

Chanel is said to be replacing the store. The future of retailing in Union Square is uncertain, not only because of the exodus from the area of residents and business since the pandemic but also due to the increase in crime in the area, including the “mass looting”.

Breitbart reported that Coco Republic, an Australian furniture retailer with a flagship Union Square location, will close it less than one year after its opening. The New York Sun reported that there are some who question whether the city has entered a “doomsday loop” whereby business exits due to poor economic conditions worsen those conditions, causing more business exits. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last year that downtown was on the verge of “collapse,” and that the situation was “worse” than it looked.

Williams-Sonoma’s earnings for the quarter ended Tuesday were significantly lower than expected, but profits exceeded market expectations.