Bloomingdale’s to close San Francisco store amid tourism slowdown

Located at 845 Market Street for the past 20 years, Bloomingdale’s department store will close its doors in a few days. This is a major blow in San Francisco, where parent company Macy’s has also announced the closure of its flagship Macy’s store in Union Square before 2027. 

“We are saddened to confirm that Bloomingdale’s will officially close its doors in Union Square, San Francisco. This vibrant city has been home to the brand for nearly two incredible decades,” the company said in a statement. “We are hopeful to be back to serve the San Francisco community in the future and look forward to introducing new ways to provide enhanced service to our loyal local shoppers.”
 
The closure of Bloomingdale’s in San Francisco, which will result in the dismissal of 164 employees, follows the announcement of numerous closures by the Macy’s group, which had announced in January 2025 that it would close more than 150 stores across the country by 2027. However, other Bloomingdale’s stores remain open in California, notably in Palo Alto and Santa Clara, and no other closures have been announced.

Already in 2023, the city’s San Francisco Centre mall, formerly a Westfield mall, was forced to close several major retailers. Among them, Nordstrom closed the doors of its five-story department store, ending a 35-year run. Hollister, a subsidiary of the clothing retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch, J.Crew and American Eagle followed shortly afterwards.

This hecatomb continued in the spring of 2024 with the closure of the North Face store in Union Square, and will continue in the coming weeks with the closure of the Zara store at 250 Post Street. To make matters worse, there are also rumours of the potential closure of Sak’s Fifth Avenue store, which has already switched to an appointment-only model at its Union Square store and laid off some employees. 
 
Among the reasons for these multiple closures, the proliferation of fentanyl since 2020 and the death of over 800 people in 2023 are thought to be partly responsible for the moribund business in this part of the city. Nordstrom’s management cited “a dramatic change in the Downtown market,” as the reason for its closure. 

Hard hit by the Covid crisis and the departure of employees from offices to their homes, the office vacancy in San Francisco climbed by 0.3% at the end of 2024 to reach 37.3 percent, setting a new record. According to real estate experts, this recent evolution is linked to the departure of Elon Musk’s company, X, which preferred to relocate its headquarters to the Palo Alto and San José area. 

As a direct consequence, tourism in San Francisco is not in good health. Whereas the city welcomed 26.21 million visitors in 2019, only 23.01 million were expected in 2024. Fewer visitors and, therefore, fewer consumers. A decline that could nevertheless be halted in 2025, with predictions betting on an upturn to 23.55 million visitors.
 
This situation is also affecting the hotel industry, which is experiencing one of the most serious crises in its history. In Downtown, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, a 17-storey, 686-room liner with a neo-futuristic decor, has been given up by owner Highgate at the end of 2024 to Blackstone Mortgage Trust lender amid $290 million debt. Less dramatic but worrying, the Proper Hotel located at 1100 Market Street has defaulted on a $28 million loan and could be foreclosed or change ownership. 
 
Back in 2023, the Park Hotels group walked away from the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 San Francisco. Two hotels located in the Union Square neighborhood which could, however, be taken over in the coming weeks.

Despite the context, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie believes in the revitalization of Downtown. 

“Although the Bloomingdale closure is disappointing, I’m energized every day by business of all sizes opening and growing in our city,” said Lurie.

“We are open for business in San Francisco. We are going to make sure that Downtown is safe and clear and we are going to start a new police task force focused on people coming for conventions, shoppers, visitors. We are going to get this right and bring retailers and business back to San Francisco.”
 
This optimism should be put into perspective, according to Downtown retailers, but it will have its first effect in May. Closed since 2017, the former home of BCBG Max Azria will welcome the second Nintendo store in the U.S., after New York, on May 15. 
 
In another positive sign, the Jackson Square neighborhood, next to Union Square, which is renowned for its art galleries and high-end stores, has just seen the Ralph Lauren boutique reopen at 441 Jackson Street. 
 
Present until 2020 on Fillmore Street, Ralph Lauren new store features both men’s and women’s Polo Ralph Lauren and Double RL collections, along with vintage apparel and accessories. The brand joins Isabel Marant, Anine Bing, Paul Smith, Thom Browne and Zimmermann, all present in Jackson Square.