PORTLAND, Ore. — This week, Target announced that it will close three of its Portland locations, citing losses from shoplifting and more organized forms of theft. These stores join a wave of post-pandemic retail closures in Portland — and while not all of these companies indicated that theft was the main reason for closing up shop, it's a trend that city leaders are desperate to reverse.
Here are a few of the major retailers or chains that have downsized or left Portland entirely since last year:
Starbucks
In July of last year, Starbucks announced that it would close more than a dozen stores across the U.S., including two Portland locations. According to the company, safety concerns were the primary reasons for these closures, which occurred mostly in major cities — citing a mental health crisis and rising drug use as reasons why it was becoming unsafe for their employees.
A third Portland location in Hollywood was also closed down around this time.
Notably, employees at multiple Starbucks locations in Oregon have joined a nationwide surge in unionization efforts at the coffee chain, including at one of the shuttered Portland stores. A Starbucks spokesperson told KGW that union status played no role in deciding what stores to close and what stores to keep open.
Cracker Barrel
Last August, the Cracker Barrel in Jantzen Beach abruptly closed its doors, leaving customers without any answers. In a statement, the company said vaguely that the closure had to do with an evaluation of the store's performance. But former employees told KGW that the restaurant's management called an emergency meeting to announce the closure, and they told staff that it was due to security issues. Neighbors corroborated that the area had become notorious for drug use and theft.
By late March of this year, Cracker Barrel had announced that it would close three of its four remaining locations in Oregon, leaving only its Medford store open. The company cited the pandemic’s impact on the business as a reason for the three new closures.
But Jantzen Beach in particular saw a wave of closures that kept on coming. In Sept. 2022, Stanford's Restaurant announced a temporary closure due to safety and security concerns. BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse announced in February that it would close down after 26 years, not giving a particular reason beyond saying to KGW that the decision was "by no means an easy one."
Walmart
Retail giant Walmart really got the ball rolling on major store closures in Portland. The company announced in February that it would close its Hayden Meadows Supercenter in Delta Park and its Eastport Plaza Supercenter off 82nd in Southeast Portland by the end of March, impacting nearly 600 employees.
While shoplifting was already a major narrative at the time, Walmart did not explicitly cite theft as the reason why it had decided to close seven locations across the U.S. at that time, saying simply that of the company's 5,000 stores, "unfortunately some do not meet our financial expectations."
These two locations were the only ones located within Portland's city limits, but Walmart had 17 other stores in the Portland and Vancouver metro area.
Walmart also closed its "tech hub" in Portland, one of three that the company decided to close at the time — leaving 17 others across the country.
Nike
Beaverton-based Nike quietly closed its Northeast Portland community store at some point in Oct. 2022, at the time saying that it would be closed "for seven days." Days turned into weeks, then months. While Nike did not publicly address the issues at the time, a letter that the company sent to Mayor Ted Wheeler in February confirmed that the store had closed due to "deteriorating public safety conditions and rapid escalation in retail theft."
Before reopening, Nike wanted to work out a deal with the city in order to get police officers stationed on-site, either by paying for off-duty officers or by funding more full-time officers to keep an eye on the location. But Portland city officials said that they had no officers to spare, and they were unable to reach a deal.
The company confirmed earlier this month that it had abandoned efforts to reopen the community store, closing it down for good.
REI
Perhaps the biggest blow to Portland's central city came from the announcement in April that outdoor retailer REI will close its longtime location in the Pearl District. In a letter to REI members, the company cited concerns over safety and an increase in crime over the last few years as primary reasons for the closure.
"The safety of our employees, members and customers is always our number one priority. In recent years, Portland has been dealing with increased crime in our neighborhood and beyond. Last year, REI Portland had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite actions to provide extra security," REI said in its letter.
But in addition to the security issues, REI claimed to have "outgrown" the store near Northwest Johnson Street and Northwest 14th Avenue. Emails between REI's chief commercial officer and Mayor Ted Wheeler's office, obtained through a public records request, also show that the company had been unable to "address issues" with the building's landlord.
The company said their lease is up at the end of Feb. 2024, which is when the location will close.
In an internal email, one member of Wheeler's staff shared an Oregon Business article about the REI closure, noting the "interesting union-busting take." Oregon Business spoke with one former and one current employee of REI's Portland location, both of whom said that employees had been pushing for unionization in recent months.
Target
This week, Target announced that it will shut down nine locations across the U.S. effective Oct. 21, including the Portland Galleria, Powell and Hollywood stores. All three are small-format locations, and 15 locations in the company's Portland market will remain open.
Target explicitly cited shoplifting and "organized retail crime" as the reason behind these store closures, most of which are located in West Coast cities.
"In this case, we cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance," the company said. "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 that it has invested significant funds and training into increasing security at all of its theft-prone locations. However, like most major retailers, Target's policy does not permit security guards or employees to confront suspected shoplifters for liability reasons.