A Clothing Mall Retailer Now Announces An Unexpected Closure

May 17, 2024

A clothing mall retailer now announces an unexpected closure in California according to filing from the state Employment Department.

American Eagle Outfitters will permanently close its location within the Emporium Centre San Francisco by next month.

A final date of operation is set for June 12, 2024.

At least 52 employees at the American Eagle store will lose their jobs.

It had a lease with the mall that lasted until January 31, 2028, meaning it was terminated almost four years early, per SFGate.

The American Eagle store in the mall is the only location from the brand within San Francisco.

No closure signs have been seen outside of the store yet.

The writing was seemingly on the wall for American Eagle to leave the mall, formally known as Westfield San Francisco Centre after it filed a lawsuit against it in 2023.

American Eagle claimed the mall “neglected” the building in which it is housed and that the store suffered “significant security incidents.”

Those incidents allegedly took place between May 2022 and 2023 and included theft, violence, and customers with firearms and even a machete during one altercation.

The case is ongoing and has a jury trial slated for February 2025, per documents from the Superior Court of California for San Francisco County obtained by SFGate.

Several competitors to American Eagle Outfitters, including J.Crew and Nordstrom fled the same shopping center months prior.

J.Crew closed on January 22 officially but did not provide a reason behind the shutdown, per local CW affiliate KRON-TV.

Nordstrom closed in August 2023, citing less “foot traffic” and changes in the “dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market.”

Cinemark Theaters, Hollister, Adidas, Lucky Brand, LEGO, and others have also left the shopping center.

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Another massive retailer is now closing due to crime despite its location being a community staple for several years.

Rampant theft has led Walgreens to permanently close one of its major locations at the White Oak Shopping Center in Maryland, reports The-Sun.

Staff and shoppers told ABC affiliate WJLA-TV that the store was closed due to high rates of theft and crime.

Mobile security cameras were recently added by police in the parking lot around stores in the shopping center.

A source also told WJLA-TV that the shopping center’s management company had to fire their security company and hire a new one.

Just last year, there was an armed robbery inside Walgreens, resulting in a man and a woman taking an unknown amount of money and products.

Robberies have become a major problem in the area as stores get ransacked by violent thieves.

A resident told the outlet she was too scared to leave her car in the shopping center’s parking lot.

She says she saw another woman get assaulted and robbed.

“You can simply be walking and they take your purse and start running and they leave you with nothing,” said Sarah Rodriguez.

“That’s why when I’m here before I get out of my car I always look around first.”

Walgreens corporate execs announced earlier this year that about 150 stores will be closed throughout the US.

This would reduce the company’s corporate staff by about 10%, resulting in over 500 positions being eliminated.

News of a replacement for the store in the White Oak Shopping Center hasn’t been announced.

However, the center has been struggling to replace the Sears location that has sat vacant for over three years.

“Yeah, it’s not good, because everyone is complaining,” said resident Kokou Eafbo.

“This is the only pharmacy we have in this area and suddenly they close, we don’t understand.”

The shopping center had once been a thriving area full of shops in Montgomery County, reports The US Sun.

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