A well-known city shopping mall is losing some of its biggest stores as it tries to refresh its look by returning its old charm.
The shopping center previously known as Westfield San Francisco Centre is now called the Emporium Centre. The change comes as the new owners aim to revive the mall's success in retail. They hope that by returning to its roots, the Emporium Centre will once again become a bustling hub for shoppers.
Two Retail Giants Exit Historic Mall
In a tribute to its long-standing history, the shopping center's new name honors its legacy as a prominent marketplace on Market Street, where it has stood for over a hundred years.
For more than twenty years, it operated as the San Francisco Center.
However, Westfield, the previous operators, found themselves in financial trouble. They stopped paying their loans and returned the keys to their lender in June last year. This decision came after a significant drop in revenue, with annual sales falling from $455 million in 2019 to just $298 million in 2022, as reported by Retail Dive.
Westfield stated that for the past 20 years, they have put much effort and money into keeping the San Francisco Centre lively and successful.
But, due to challenging times in downtown San Francisco that caused fewer sales, less interest from shops to rent spaces, and fewer people visiting, they've decided to hand over control of the mall to the bank that lent them money.
This means someone else will take over running the shopping center. Westfield also clarified that this move doesn't affect their other financial responsibilities.
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Adding to the challenges faced by the new owners, two major beauty brands, French cosmetics giants L'Occitane and Sephora, have decided to pull out of the mall. This news was first shared by the San Francisco Business Times, marking yet another hurdle in the mall's journey to regain its former glory.
L'Occitane has reportedly shut down its store on the first floor, and the Market Street location has been removed from the company's website. The brand has not yet responded to requests for a statement.
Sephora to Close Doors in Mid-April, Says Staff
Sephora, a beauty retailer with its North American headquarters in San Francisco, plans to close its doors in mid-April, as employees have informed the Business Times.
The Emporium Centre, known for its stunning skylit central domed rotunda, was turned into part of the Westfield mall, with Bloomingdale's occupying five of its floors.
Initially slow to attract shoppers, the nine-story mall eventually became one of the most successful shopping destinations in the nation. However, the recent changes have led to retailers leaving the premises.
Notable closures include the Century Theatres multiplex in June 2023, the LEGO store in November, and Adidas' two-level store in January. Other departures include J.Crew, Hollister, Aldo, and Madewell.
J. Crew, which declared bankruptcy in 2020 and has since been reducing its number of physical stores, is reportedly shutting its San Francisco outlet in the mall in the next two weeks. SFGate learned of the closure from an unnamed employee, who mentioned that the store's final operation day was January 22.
The mall's new management unveiled the change of name last week, a tribute to the original department store on the site from 1896 to 1996, before Westfield's acquisition.
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