Macy’s has faced its fair share of hardships, experiencing years of declining sales that have forced the longtime retailer to close dozens of stores and lay off hundreds of corporate and retail employees.
The company, once the leader of American department stores, has spent the last decade reducing its footprint and rethinking its future in the ever-evolving retail landscape.
While many nostalgic spots have disappeared from local communities, Macy’s now appears to be reeling from the closure of one of its most iconic locations across the country.
This unexpected decision marks a surprising turn in the company’s ongoing transformation strategy and could even open the door for customers to live inside one of its most famous properties.
In early 2024, Macy’s unveiled its “Bold New Chapter” strategy, a plan to close about 150 underperforming stores by 2026 while focusing investments on the remaining 350 strongest locations. The company’s growth ambitions now focus on its most profitable and upscale divisions, such as Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury.
Over the past decade, Macy’s has already closed more than a third of its stores, along with a distribution center and two third-party logistics facilities. Among those slated to close was Macy’s Union Square Flagship, a roughly 400,000-square-foot retail institution that has served San Francisco for nearly a century.
Macy’s opened its flagship store in San Francisco in 1945, after acquiring the site from O’Connor Moffatt Co., which first opened the store in 1929. For generations, the building has been both a retail destination and a local landmark.
“As someone who grew up in San Francisco, Macy’s has always meant a lot to the people of this city,” former San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement at the time.
“It’s where families came to shop during the holidays. It’s where many people in my community got their first jobs, or even held jobs for decades. It’s hard to think that Macy’s is no longer a part of our city.”
Macy’s is reconsidering the closure of its Union Square location in San Francisco.Shutterstock
Now, it seems Macy’s (M) is having second thoughts, or perhaps the property has proven too valuable to sell.
The company has partnered with real estate firm TMG Partners to explore new development options for the Union Square site as part of a broader evaluation of its real estate portfolio.
For now, the flagship location will remain open, and Macy’s plans to continue operations at least through the first quarter of 2026. That window will give both companies time to evaluate future uses for the property.