Legendary furniture store and Pottery Barn rival set to shutter in popular downtown location
A LEGENDARY kitchenware store has announced that it will shutter a flagship location in a downtown area experiencing a spate of retail closures.
The popular kitchenware store Williams-Sonoma has been the only location in downtown San Francisco.
The company, well known for its gourmet-quality cookware, is closing after 30 years in the bay area city.
The four-floor, nearly 20,000-square-foot location, has been a Williams-Sonoma since 1993.
The store's top floor featured a full-working kitchen.
Williams-Sonoma contracted professional chefs to teach cooking classes in the custom kitchen.
Read More on Store Closures
According to The San Francisco Standard, employees at the kitchenware brand said the location is expected to turn into a Chanel store.
Chanel officials have apparently visited the flagship store.
"Like once a month," an employee told The Standard about the Chanel executive visits.
"They'd come in all black, with a pin that says Chanel and take photos."
Most read in Money
RETAILERS LEAVING SF
Williams-Sonoma joins a long list of companies vacating their San Francisco dwellings.
Coco Republic, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods Market all announced their departure from the California city.
None of the companies have pointed directly to a rise in theft as the main cause of their departure.
Workers and police data suggests that theft has been a big reason for the exits.
"We invested extraordinary time and capital in our initial US flagship store in Union Square," Coco Republic’s creative director and founder, Anthony Spon-Smith, said in a statement.
"But, ultimately, the safety and well-being of our customers and employees is our highest priority."
San Francisco executives like Elon Musk have chided the city for increasing crime rates - the Twitter billionaire blasted downtown San Francisco as "post-apocalyptic."
The narrative that San Francisco is crime-ridden only grapples with part of the story.
But it's unclear what the reason behind the closure of Williams-Sonoma is.
The city's crime dashboard - reported by the police - records the number of crimes in a city.
The dashboard compares the number of reported crimes to the number of reports from the year prior.
As of mid-May, San Francisco has seen a decrease in theft, burglary, and assault compared to last year.
HOME-GOODS STORES MAKE CHANGES
Williams-Sonoma is joining many home goods retailers changing retail offerings and opting for a more significant online presence.
Discount home goods brand Ikea announced an expansion of the "As-Is" section.
The discount section featuring slightly worn pieces will have more selection online.
Similarly, The Container Store announced a new partnership launch with ThredUp.
The companies teamed up to allow customers to trade in unwanted, warn items for digital gift cards.
Read More on The US Sun
The U.S. Sun reports on store closures - here is a fan-favorite restaurant that closed a location.
Also, retailers are making significant changes - here is one that will uplift readers.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEZqqupl6YvK57zKilnrFfbX51fJZtb2ion6nBpr7YZpmaqp5iv6rCwKVkrKClqcGmvoydprCmpKTEr3nSmqVmnqKWu6S10pymZq%2BZobmqrcysZKynnqS6ons%3D