Danish luxury electronics retailer Bang & Olufsen actually closed their Union Square store long before the pandemic and subsequent downtown SF downturn, but they're coming back this October in the former Geary Street Britex Fabrics space.
Back when the Union Square Britex Fabrics had to move out of their Geary Street location in 2016, but quickly found a new spot, there was much joy among vintage sign enthusiasts once there was a brand spanking new Britex Fabrics sign at the new Britex Fabrics. What was less discussed was how the old, rather beaten-down Britex Fabrics sign at 146 Geary Street is still there, and now really showing its 61-year-old age. But what’s worse, 146 Geary Street has been vacant for a few years now.
Though it looks like that unlucky streak is about to end. The SF Business Times reported Thursday that the high-end Danish audio and video equipment retailer Bang & Olufsen is moving in as a new tenant at that building. Bang & Olufsen left their previous Union Square store at 353 Sutter Street in 2016, and also had an Eighth and Townsend street location up until 2015.
The Business Times bases their report on what is displayed on Bang & Olufsen's website, where a 146 Geary Street location is described as having a “New store opening Oct 2025.”
And the Business Times also confirmed the deal with the commercial realtor that brokered the arragement.
“Union Square has such a broad customer base and reach, and this comes at a great time where there is a lot of excitement and momentum for the area,” Kazuko Morgan of the leasing realtor Cushman & Wakefield told the Business Times. “It’s a long time coming and fantastic for San Francisco.”
So certainly Cushman & Wakefield executives have reason to be popping the champagne, but the building’s current owner Aareal Capital Corporation has even more reason. Aareal Capital was the lender who got stuck with the building when the previous owner defaulted on their loan in 2013. Aareal Capital probably only ever wanted to just sell the building, and that sale will be easier — and likely to fetch a much higher price — with a white-glove tenant like Bang & Olufsen locked in on a lease.
For what it’s worth, the Business Times also notes that Bang & Olufsen is also planning to open a new Palo Alto store in the Stanford Shopping Center this November.
But the new SF store is a humongous win for Union Square, already cruising on the momentum of the blockbuster success of the new Nintendo Store, and this week’s Union Square Pop Mart announcement. Plus here we have the narrative that a store that left Union Square has decided to return post-pandemic. And with John Varvatos returning to Geary Street, this pattern may turn into a trend.
Image: Google Street View
