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, the spokesperson for Gap – which is headquartered in San Francisco and has a number of retailer subsidiaries, including Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta – noted that the company is considering potential new landing spots. for another Old Navy in downtown, reiterating that “Gap Inc. has deep roots in San Francisco and is committed to the city.”
“Old Navy is still evaluating its real estate portfolio to ensure a healthy fleet of stores that can provide the best possible experience for our customers,” the spokesperson wrote.
“Since opening our Market Street store in the 1990s, the way we operate flagship locations has changed. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close our Market Street store when the lease expires, and we are already working to identify new locations in downtown San Francisco that will better meet the needs of the business and our clients.
The announcement of Old Navy’s closure comes a month after Gap revealed layoffs primarily affecting its corporate employees; the layoffs affected approximately 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, increasing creativity and improving delivery across all dimensions of the customer experience,” said the Acting CEO Bob Martin in a statement provided to SFGATE. at the time.
Last month, Gap’s Banana Republic at nearby Westfield Mall also closed, although a spokesperson said the closure was part of a company-wide 2020 plan and not is unrelated to concerns raised by some local businesses in San Francisco regarding the lack of foot traffic and unsafe conditions in the downtown area.