AT&T Bids Farewell to San Francisco Flagship Store Amid Changing Consumer Habits

AT&T Inc T looks to shut down the company's Downtown San Francisco flagship store.

"Consumer shopping habits continue to change, and we're changing with them," the Standard cites AT&T spokesperson Chris Collins who confirmed the closure. He talked about serving customers where they are through the right mix of retail stores, digital channels, and our phone-based care team.

Collins said there are still two AT&T locations within one mile of 1 Powell St., the Financial District store at 425 Market St. and the Chinatown store at 851 Clay St. AT&T has over ten stores and licensed retailers across San Francisco.

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The Union Square store will close on August 1, and a similar store in Chicago on Michigan Avenue will shut down the same day, leaving the nation's only AT&T flagship store in Dallas. 

The planned AT&T shutdown marks the 25th primary business closure in the Union Square area since the start of the pandemic.

An analysis by The Standard indicates that 46% of Westfield's stores have closed since the pandemic. Another study shows Union Square has lost at least 17 stores since 2020.

In April, AT&T reported first-quarter FY23 operating revenues of $30.14 billion, up 1.4% year-over-year, marginally missing the consensus of $30.26 billion. AT&T remains confident of its FY23 guidance. 

Price Action: T shares traded higher by 0.37% at $16.09 in the premarket on the last check Friday.

Photo by Tdorante10 via Wikimedia Commons