Before you start picking on San Francisco for its laundry list of problems, it's a good idea to check on your own city to see if it's suffering from similar issues.
You know what they say about glass houses.
DON'T MISS: Here's what's moving into a huge empty Nordstrom space in San Francisco (tourists will be happy)
As about two dozen stores have announced plans to vacate San Francisco as its crime issues remain unresolved, retail crime has been a hot topic that's proven difficult to solve. Some such retailers, which include Old Navy, Banana Republic, Crate & Barrel, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, Anthropologie and Office Depot, have issued statements explaining inventory shrink and other foot traffic patterns made business in the area untenable.
The city's biggest Nordstrom, which made moves to leave in August, saw sales tax revenue down 25% from Q1 2019 to the same period of 2023.
But it's not just San Francisco that's had a rough go of it post-pandemic.
Nike shuts its doors on a beloved site
Pacific Northwest city Portland, Ore., has also seen petty theft and shoplifting affect stores' bottom line. Its very own Nike (NKE) -) has decided to permanently close its large factory store as it sees theft cut into its profits.
"Nike’s commitment to supporting and uplifting Portland’s North and Northeast community is unwavering," Nike said in a statement "We are reimagining Nike’s retail space, permanently closing our current location at 2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and considering future locations as part of this community’s long term revitalization plan. True to our roots, we will seek the input of local community organizations and leaders to determine the best new location."
The store closed in 2022 after local news station KGW-TV reported "brazen" thefts had been "stealing armloads of Nike merchandise and walking out the front door with no fear of being stopped."
The station said that the Nike store had the second-highest rate of reported shoplifting incidents since 2019 at 437 cases reported –behind a nearby Target (TGT) -) store with 650 cases.
Most stores, however, do not report shoplifting incidents. Nike security guards told the outlet that they are prohibited from stopping thieves and are instead there to symbolically offer safety for shoppers and employees.
Chiefly unhappy about the news was John Washington, head of the local Soul District Business Association (SBDA).
"This news has landed like a lead balloon in our district," Washington said. "We had all been holding our breath since last November when the store quietly shuttered its doors due to internal and external theft and safety issues. But, like so many of us riding out the fallout of the pandemic and protests, we held out hope that Nike, city officials and community leaders would recalibrate and realign order. But it looks like it's game over."
The store had been open since 1984. The pre-existing webpage for its Portland Community Store now brings up an empty page on the Nike website.
Always one for visionary innovation, Nike seems to have a plan for its retail woes and spaces.
"Nike’s commitment to supporting and uplifting Portland’s North and Northeast community is unwavering. We are reimagining Nike’s retail space, permanently closing our current location at 2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and considering future locations as part of this community’s long term revitalization plan," it said in a statement. "True to our roots, we will seek the input of local community organizations and leaders to determine the best new location. As we plan ahead, we are keeping the best interest of our employees at heart, providing them options to continue to be part of the Nike family,"
