Nordstrom gives up on downtown S.F.


The WaPo has the story here; I hope you can get through the paywall.

The Seattle-based retailer, citing dwindling foot traffic, will not renew leases for its store in Westfield Mall and a Nordstrom Rack across the street, according to an email sent to staff from chief stores officer Jamie Nordstrom and shared with The Washington Post. The Westfield store will be open until the end of August, and the Rack location will close July 1.

This comes on the heels of Whole Foods bailing on central San Francisco as well.

You've got to wonder how long the downtown Portland Nordstrom store will be around. When the building was sold in 2001, Nordstrom's lease reportedly had 17 years left on it, with options to renew through 2037. That's the last I could find on when they might be free to walk.

It's been a rough stretch for Nordstrom. Their stock was selling at around $26 a share in February. Now it's more like $15. In late 2018, it was up over $66. If I had to bet, I'd say they'll be departing downtown Portland soon, adding to the already-bleak scene down there. A nice place to not visit.

Comments

  1. Portland's downtown Nordstrom has weathered hard times before the current shit show. In the early 2000s, the second floor men's room was a notorious shooting gallery and gay sex site for the miscreants from across the street in the "living room". Today's environment is worse yet, so it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see them pull out of downtown. I'd bet Columbia, Marios and Pendleton would soon follow. Gonna get worse before it gets better.

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  2. it's too soon to tell ... they do have a store in Washington Square, it would be interesting to compare the theft numbers and profit margins of each store

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  3. Washington Square has been their best Portland store for some time.

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  4. Every “big money” contract I’ve seen has a force majeure clause, or some similar out.

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