San Francisco’s Union Square is losing another large flagship store as an increasing number of smaller store openings signal the beginning of a recovery in the city’s downtown retail hub.
Saks Fifth Avenue is closing its store at 384 Post Street on May 10, less than a year after switching to an appointment-only format when safety issues proliferated in the neighborhood.
“While we saw meaningful engagement and success through the appointment-only format, we have made this decision as part of our integration process as we focus on long-term growth,” the luxury retail chain said in a statement.
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In 2023, Saks closed its Saks Off Fifth outlet at 901 Market Street. The retail giant, which bought Neiman Marcus last year for $2.7 billion, will maintain that brand’s store at 150 Stockton Street in a building that was part of the acquisition.
The impending departure of the Post Street store has Saks joining an exodus of high-profile retailers who have shut large stores in the Union Square neighborhood in the past two years. At the end of March, Bloomingdale’s closed a 339,000-square-foot store that anchored the San Francisco Centre, the city’s largest downtown mall.
The 1.2 million-square-foot shopping center, in receivership and facing a June 17 foreclosure auction, lost its other anchor when Nordstrom shuttered its 312K-square-foot store in 2023. The mall is down the street from Macy’s historic Union Square flagship, a century-old, 400K-square-foot store that also is slated to close when a buyer can be found for the property.
The pervasive gloom in the Union Square retail hub during the past two years has begun to lift in 2025 as several retailers have signaled they’re betting on a recovery with new stores in the area.
Global fashion giant Zara was expected to be part of the Union Square exodus when it announced last year that it plans to close a store it has occupied for the last two decades at 250 Post Street when the lease on the space expires early next year.
However, last month, Zara unveiled plans to open a new four-story flagship store next year down the block at 400 Post Street. The new 40,000-square-foot location will be twice as large as the space Zara is planning to vacate.
Mayor Daniel Lurie heralded Zara’s recommitment to the city’s iconic shopping district as a sign that “San Francisco is on the rise.”
“We are working every day to deliver safe and clean streets in Union Square and across downtown,” Lurie told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Zara’s decision to open a flagship store in Union Square is the latest vote of confidence in the future of our city.”
Bulgari also has deepened its commitment to Union Square. The Italian luxury jeweler in March opened its new San Francisco flagship in the Hastings Building at the corner of Grant Avenue and Post Street.
The 3,500-square-foot boutique in the historic 117-year-old building replaces Bulgari’s previous location on Stockton Street. The new flagship includes two salons for “private client experiences,” a custom chandelier featuring 300 crystal wands by Italian glassmaker Venini, and a decorative panel by Milan-based studio Pictalab that merges the skylines of Rome and San Francisco.
Nintendo is scheduled to open its second U.S. retail location at 331 Powell Street on May 15. The gaming giant will occupy an 11,000-square-foot storefront on the corner of Powell and Geary streets that has been vacant since 2017.
The Nintendo store is across the street from a 16,000-square-foot Shoe Palace outlet that opened in February, at 301-323 Geary Street.
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