It’s official. Bulgari has moved into its new flagship store in San Francisco, cutting its retail presence in Union Square by 41 percent.
The Rome-based luxury retailer has opened a 3,500-square-foot store at the historic Hastings Building at 206 Grant Avenue, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Terms of the lease with London-based Grosvenor were not disclosed.
A Grosvenor representative confirmed to The Real Deal that even though the ground-floor store is 3,500 square feet, Bulgari has leased 9,400 square feet over three floors, as TRD was first to report last year. The second floor is being used for offices and the basement is used for storage.
Bulgari’s former store had 16,000 square feet at One Union Square, once known as the Bulgari Building at 200 Stockton Street, a few blocks away.
So the new Union Square space still represents a 41 percent reduction in its Union Square footprint.
The new store showcases Bulgari’s signature blend of Roman-inspired architecture and contemporary luxury.
That includes two salons for private clients, a custom chandelier with 300 Italian-made crystal wands and an Italian-made panel blending the skylines of Rome and San Francisco.
Grosvenor was in talks with the unit of Paris-based LVMH for more than a year before the deal was finally inked in February. The landlord spent millions to reconfigure a store formerly inhabited by the North Face.
The store was originally expected to open this fall, according to the Chronicle.
The downsizing by Bulgari in Union Square may reflect a broader exit of luxury retail stores from Union Square.
Last week, Saks Fifth Avenue announced it would close its Union Square store at 384 Post Street next month, after shifting to an appointment-only model after 44 years on the block.
It will follow other high-profile retailer departures, including Bloomingdale’s and the soon-to-depart Macy’s, in addition to Uniqlo, H&M, North Face, DSW and Walgreens. Nordstrom, which once anchored the nearby San Francisco Centre mall, packed up in 2023.
At the same time, crime, the bane of any high-end retail area, is on the wane — with some green shoots returning to Union Square. Next month, Nintendo is slated to open on Powell Street, its second U.S. store, according to the Chronicle.
And Zara, which a year ago announced it would abandon the luxury shopping district, has inked a lease for a four-story flagship store at 400 Post Street. The 40,000-square-foot replacement store, to open next year, will be nearly twice the size of its current digs.
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