Target will close nine stores in four states, including one in East Harlem, New York, three in San Francisco, and two in Seattle, saying that theft and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.
The closings, which will be effective Oct. 21, also include three stores in Portland, Oregon. Target said that it still will have a combined 150 stores open in the markets where the closures are taking place. Target will offer affected workers the opportunity to transfer to other stores.
The two Seattle locations that will close will be the one along University Way and the one in Ballard. Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, the city had five in total, in Northgate, Ballard, the University District, Pike Place, and Westwood Village.
In early September, KIRO 7 reported on several Target locations across the Seattle area that had begun locking an array of items behind glass cases to mitigate shoplifting. A city audit published in July found that the Targets at Pike Place, Northgate, and Westwood Village were among the top 10 stores that Seattle police responded to for shoplifting calls in 2022.
Target described the decision as “difficult.”
“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” Target said in a statement on Tuesday.
Before making the decision, Target said it had invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft such as adding more security team workers, using third-party guard services and installing theft deterrent tools like locking up merchandise. It also has trained store leaders and security team members to protect themselves and de-escalate potential safety issues. But it noted that despite those efforts, it continued to face “fundamental challenges” to operate the stores safely — and the business performance at these locations was unsustainable.
While the store closings account for just a fraction of the 1,900 stores Target operates nationwide, the move is significant. It underscores the big challenges that retailers like Target face in reducing theft in stores as they wrestle with protecting their workers and customers while trying to serve the community, particularly low-income and minority groups who rely on the local stores for necessities.
