The Day by day Scoop: San Francisco’s Union Sq., grapples with enterprise closures and media protection
Union Square in downtown San Francisco has seen better days—or even better years. As big companies pack up and leave, the popular public space is redefining its identity.
the context
According to reports from Los Angeles Times:
- Nearly 30 downtown businesses have closed since the pandemic and seven more are on the verge of closing.
- A slowdown in consumer purchases, supply chain issues and high operational costs, as well as public safety are some factors behind the city’s 6% increase in vacancy rates in the first quarter of the year. Last year the figure was 5.2%, which has been described as “the highest in the city” since 2006.
- About 300,000 fewer people live downtown compared to 2019 and homelessness has impacted foot traffic.
- “It’s a very serious problem for the entire city, let alone downtown,” Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, said in the article.
The answer
The LA Times reported that San Francisco Mayor London Breed “defeated the narrative” that Union Square was in trouble.
Breed said in the article that the media is not talking about the confiscated deals.
“For the people who don’t walk the streets of San Francisco, who don’t live in San Francisco but want to write and comment on San Francisco, I urge you to come to this city and see how it feels. ” Breed said at a press conference in May. “I urge you to shop at the stores you complain about and which you have probably never set foot in.”
Breed, in an ABC 7 article, acknowledged the need to increase police presence to attract more businesses to the city and more foot traffic. She added that concerned residents “will see a difference” in the city’s proposed upgrades.
Why it matters: Breed said stores like Ikea and Banana Republic are moving to Union Square — but no one’s reporting it.
Union Square Alliance CEO Marisa Rodriguez said in the article that while some stores have gone, luxury retailers are staying.
“The heart of the place is beating strongly — it’s alive,” she told the LA Times. “There have certainly been challenges post-pandemic that many major cities have faced. We try to position ourselves to do justice to the moment and turn where we can.”
Repeating her views, Breed announced a $6 million investment for three blocks near Union Square, where stores like H&M, Uniqlo and Gap have closed.
The City of San Francisco is positioning their city’s business park as unbeatable and undeterred. While Union Square has faced (and still faces) fights and store closures, its representatives are reminding others that there is more to come and should ignore the haters.
Despite negative press surrounding a brand, continue to remind others of the reality of the situation – find and reinforce positive news.
Strengthen your brand and keep shouting about its resilience from the mountaintops, but don’t get delusional either. Find the right balance of positivity and share this hard truth with others.
Rodriguez acknowledged the issues at hand, but didn’t just address them either.
If you dig deeper, there are always great stories to tell. Focus on finding positive and inspiring stories about comebacks and people triumphing over adversity. Because who doesn’t love an outsider?
Top Headlines:
- From Amazon and Kleenex to Cheerios and Dove – the Morning Consult is ranked among the 10 most trusted brands in the United States with some well-known names among the top winners. Brands are ranked by companies that people trust to “do the right thing”. Others that made the list include Band-Aid, Lysol, UPS, Amazon, Kleenex, Cheerios, and Dove.
- Air New Zealand would like to see how much you weigh before boarding the aircraft. The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority needs to know how much passengers weigh on their international flights for safety reasons to ensure the weight distribution is appropriate for a survey. Program officials make sure passengers know their weight will not be shared with anyone. Your data is sent directly to the weight recorder and is not visible on the scale. The aviation authority stressed that they wanted to protect their customers from potential embarrassment by hiding their weight from everyone, which in turn showed care and concern.
Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she’s not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading, and building an authentically curated life that involves more than just finding the occasional tasty fried meal. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great idea for a PR story? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com.
COMMENT
One Response to “The Daily Scoop: San Francisco’s Union Square Struggles With Store Closures and Media Coverage”
Ronald N Levy says: May 30, 2023 @ 3:54pm
This is excellent. At first glance, it looks like Mayor Breed is either right or wrong, but a closer look suggests a third choice the mayor might be happy to call upon: new and better PR to restore San Francisco’s success .
From the fat sea lions of Pier 39 to the slim beauties of San Francisco bars to the fat corporations of California tech, SF is blessed with beauty
and brains. And the city has a nice, smart selection of great PR firms, some of the biggest in the world, that can make SF one of the greatest cities again.
It won’t happen until San Franciscan makes it possible. If Mayor Breed sees a realistic chance of becoming governor, or if SF’s new businesses see a chance to find new wealth with new governance, it could happen. SF has the community and site resources, as well as tremendous PR talent, to make what Horace Greeley called for: go west, young man.
Thanks to our better PR skills, we could skip the “man” and the “boy” today.
Go west. I loved San Francisco, had a good office there, and would love to watch one of San Francisco’s great public relations firms rebuild this once-leading city of equal opportunity and exceptional originality.
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