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This isn't a major surprise - the accelerating decline of music sales already killed Tower:
But the meat is in the rest of the article:
Walgreens has 3 stores within a 5 block radius of where I live. How likely are the Rite Aid stores to stay open as Walgreens?
The obligatory note of hope:
The Virgin Megastore in San Francisco will shut its doors in late April, adding a large vacancy at Stockton and Market streets to a growing number of empty storefronts around Union Square, the retail heart of the city.
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The music and video retailer, which opened its estimated 45,000-square-foot store 14 years ago, will start liquidation sales sometime next month, company officials confirmed Thursday.
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View Larger Images The music and video retailer, which opened its estimated 45,000-square-foot store 14 years ago, will start liquidation sales sometime next month, company officials confirmed Thursday.
The Virgin Megastore in New York's Times Square also will close and will make way for trendy clothing retailer Forever 21. The company said Thursday it also would close its store in New York's Union Square.
The closures of the San Francisco and New York locations will leave just three Virgin retail stores - in Hollywood, Denver and Orlando - from a peak of 23 stores in 2002.
The closure late last year of Shoe Pavilion left an empty storefront at 838 Market St. The Escada boutique, formerly at 259 Post St., and Ann Taylor, at 240 Post St., closed a couple of years ago, and their spaces remain vacant. The former Disney Store at 400 Post St., which shut its doors last year, has yet to be filled.
In addition, a number of retailers are considering downsizing or not renewing their leases once they expire. Those include Talbots at 126 Post St., Mango at 117 Post St. and Rockport at 165 Post St., which wants to sublease a portion of its space.
Rite Aid Corp. announced earlier this month that it is pulling out of San Francisco, selling all seven of its stores to Walgreen Co. Because Walgreen already has a nearby store on Market Street, the future of the Rite Aid at 779 Market St. is in doubt.
In addition, a number of retailers are considering downsizing or not renewing their leases once they expire. Those include Talbots at 126 Post St., Mango at 117 Post St. and Rockport at 165 Post St., which wants to sublease a portion of its space.
Rite Aid Corp. announced earlier this month that it is pulling out of San Francisco, selling all seven of its stores to Walgreen Co. Because Walgreen already has a nearby store on Market Street, the future of the Rite Aid at 779 Market St. is in doubt.
The obligatory note of hope:
But all is not bleak. Amid the retail shakeup, there are newcomers to the area. Bulgari is on track to open a 13,600-square-foot store at 200 Stockton St. CB2, Crate & Barrel's lower-cost home-furnishing outlet, opened in the fall. And a lease has just been signed for the former Sharper Image site on the 200 block of Post Street, though the brokers involved declined to reveal the new tenant.
Meanwhile, renovations are under way at 800 Market St., across from Virgin, to accommodate a new Diesel clothing store. BCBG just renewed its lease at 331 Powell St., and British designer Sir Paul Smith is planning to open his store at 46 Geary St. in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, renovations are under way at 800 Market St., across from Virgin, to accommodate a new Diesel clothing store. BCBG just renewed its lease at 331 Powell St., and British designer Sir Paul Smith is planning to open his store at 46 Geary St. in the coming weeks.
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