Nordstrom closing both of its San Francisco stores

Nordstrom will close two of its stores in downtown San Francisco this summer, according to an internal memo in which a company officer explained the closures are due to dramatic changes in the “dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market.”

Jamie Nordstrom, chief store officer, announced the decision to employees Tuesday in a memo obtained by The Hill. The San Francisco Centre Nordstrom will be closed by the end of August and the Market Street Nordstrom Rack location’s last day will be July 1, Nordstrom said.

“Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult. We’ve spent more than 35 years serving customers in downtown San Francisco, building relationships with them and investing in the local community,” he wrote. “But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”

The San Francisco Centre Nordstrom store opened its doors in 1988 and the Market Street Rack store opened in 2014. There are 16 other Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores in the Bay Area, and Nordstrom said that they have made “significant investments” in the stores in the region over the years.

“I want to be really clear that this decision had nothing to do with our teams’ hard work. They should be proud of everything they’ve achieved together and the way they’ve shown up and served the community,” the memo states. “We’re working with each impacted employee to support them through this transition and find new roles within the company wherever possible.”  

The company also plans to open 20 more Nordstrom Rack stores across the country this year, the memo reads.