Gap’s Old Navy store in downtown San Francisco to close
The longtime Old Navy store at 801 Market St. in downtown San Francisco will close this summer, a Gap Inc. spokesperson wrote in a statement Friday.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Gap — which is headquartered in San Francisco and owns a number of subsidiaries, including Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta — noted that the company is looking at potential new landing spots for another downtown Old Navy, reiterating that “Gap Inc . has deep roots in San Francisco and is committed to the city.”
“Old Navy is always evaluating its real estate portfolio to ensure a healthy fleet of stores that can provide the best possible experience for our customers,”[ads1]; the spokesperson wrote.
“Since our Market Street store opened in the 1990s, the way we utilize flagship locations has changed. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close our Market Street store when our lease expires, and we are already working on to identify new locations in downtown San Francisco that will better serve the needs of our business and customers.”
The Old Navy closing announcement comes a month after Gap revealed layoffs that primarily affect the company’s employees; the layoffs affected about 800 employees in the state of California.
“We are taking the necessary steps to reshape Gap Inc. for the future — simplifying and optimizing our operating model, elevating creativity and driving better delivery across all dimensions of the customer experience,” interim CEO Bob Martin said in a statement provided to SFGATE at the time.
Last month, Gap’s Banana Republic at the nearby Westfield mall also closed, though a spokesperson said the closing was part of a 2020 company-wide plan and unrelated to issues raised by some local San Francisco businesses about a lack of foot traffic and unsafe conditions in the center.
