The enormous Macy’s department store in San Francisco’s Union Square has been a fixture in the city since 1947. For generations, it has been the go-to retailer for countless residents and visitors. With products stocked and priced for affordability, the store has served the needs of shoppers who can’t afford the more luxurious Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, also in Union Square.
In 2000, the Cheesecake Factory launched on the building’s top floor. While some locals may have turned their nose up at the chain renowned for its extensive menu of large-portioned food, the restaurant provides a stunning view of Union Square, the city’s classic architecture, and the historic cable car chugging up and down Powell Street.
As such, Macy’s Union Square became the place to go for shopping and socializing, while supplying a steady stream of essential tax revenue into the city.
Yet on Feb. 27, 2024, Mayor London Breed announced that the flagship store was slated for closure. Corporate would be shuttering 150 so-called “unproductive” Macy’s stores across the country, and the Union Square location — which employs approximately 400 people — was among them. But why? The decision left many mystified. It is, after all, often bustling with customers.
It is also full of criminals and dangerous people, say the store’s current and past loss prevention agents.
“My recommendation?” says a loss prevention agent who worked at the Macy’s Union Square location for five years. “Don’t go to the first floor when the sun goes down. It’s not safe.”
Nor is it always pleasant. People do drugs in the restrooms, and use dressing rooms as toilets, says the agent who requested anonymity. Shoplifting, especially, is rampant.
The day I met the source in early 2024, I was shopping on the third floor and observed several people with armloads of clothes quickly make their way past the registers and out onto Geary Street. Claims that upward of 16 percent of the merchandise walks out of the store have not been confirmed by management but my source was not surprised. As trained loss prevention professionals they do their best, but the team is short-staffed and unable to address all of the crimes in motion.
Angela Carter, a long-term loss prevention agent with extensive experience at numerous other Bay Area retailers worked for Macy’s Union Square until 2024. She was upset by what she witnessed and experienced on her shifts.
“These people bring weapons — machetes, guns, knives — into the store,” says Carter. “They get aggressive. I’ve had thieves tell me they’re going to take me to court for profiling.”
Carter describes people coming into the store with swollen hands and open sores on their skin.
“They are feeding their habit,” she says. “Half of San Francisco has a drug problem. They ransack, steal. Some of it is organized crime, too. They come in groups of three or four and have a car waiting outside. But you won’t see them again for months. The drug addicts who steal come in every day.”
“Don’t go to the first floor when the sun goes down. It’s not safe,” warns a former loss prevention agent.
Abeni Figueroa worked as a loss prevention agent at Macy’s Union Square for nearly a year, beginning in 2022. She was shocked by how little the shoplifters seemed to care.
“They came in, took what they wanted and they left,” says Figueroa. “I’ve never experienced something so hectic. It was crazy, 24/7. Pure chaos. One guy would come in and knock all the fragrances off the counter; he threw one at my manager’s face. I would never bring my kids there. I’ve had guns brandished on me.”
Figueroa, one of only three female agents at the time, described her typical work day. Upon arrival there would usually be someone already in the booking room. She would go to the third floor to check the women’s fitting rooms for problem behavior. The radio, which notifies personnel about crimes in action, never stopped. Someone would be overdosing on the lower level; a riot would be erupting outside the doors on Geary Street. Figueroa would apprehend an average of 12 people per shift.
The job is tough and loss prevention agents are required to follow a strict protocol. It begins with watching a person enter a certain department, select an item then conceal or hide the merchandise. The person would be constantly observed. After passing all points of sale with the merchandise and having made no attempt to pay, the agent can apprehend the person, sometimes using handcuffs, then take the person to the booking room. At that stage they wait for the police to arrive and take the next steps.
Penalties, however, are rarely imposed. In 2014 California’s Proposition 47 downgraded certain crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including shoplifting when the value is under $950. (Proposition 36, on the November 2024 California ballot, would stiffen sentences for such theft.)
When asked if the city is aware of how bad the issue has become at the retailer, Figueroa said yes. “Honestly, I feel like they want to burn Macy’s down,” she says. “In my opinion, San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the U.S. It’s so sad.”
The loss prevention agents have suggestions for what can and should be done to keep Macy’s Union Square in business and make it safe for the public.
A simple change can make a big difference, says the anonymous source. Position at least one police officer at each exit. Not only would their presence deter at least some criminals from entering the store, they could make immediate arrests when alerted by employees.
Figueroa thinks Macy’s should add at least 10 more loss prevention agents — people who truly care about the work — to the team. And management needs to treat them all well so they stay on.
As for Carter, she believes that locking up the expensive merchandise would help reduce loss, but she also wants more police officers on site. “They keep the bulls—t to a minimum,” she says. “And if you’re caught stealing more than once, you shouldn’t be allowed in.”
In fact, Carter may be returning to Macy’s Union Square. She loves the job and is good at it. Moreover, another loss prevention agent told her that the store’s closure isn’t certain. “If San Francisco gets better, they’ll stay.”
Updated: Thursday, Oct. 3 at 12:22 p.m.