Uniqlo will open a new flagship store at 801 Market Street in downtown San Francisco on October 9, marking the Japanese retailer's return to the city's commercial core after shuttering its previous Powell Street location. The store will occupy a space long associated with Old Navy, and it arrives as part of Uniqlo's broader 2026 expansion push across the United States.
According to WhatNow, the 801 Market Street location is one piece of Uniqlo's wider 2026 U.S. expansion plans. The retailer is returning to San Francisco after closing its large Powell Street location, and the site it's moving into was previously associated with Old Navy as of 2023, per the same report.
Before Uniqlo secured the space, 801 Market Street was home to an Old Navy flagship, which closed in 2023, as reported by SFGATE. Old Navy had opened at the corner of Market and Fourth streets in 1999 as its largest single store location, according to the same outlet.
A Flagship Built Around Repair, Not Just Retail
Per WhatNow's reporting, the new Uniqlo store will offer its UTme! custom printing service, which lets customers create customized t-shirts and tote bags, along with a repair studio, embroidery services, and selected pants hemming. The location will also carry LifeWear apparel for women, men, children, and babies, plus ship-to-store service, the outlet notes.
Uniqlo has said that selected new stores will include repair and embroidery services to extend the use and lifespan of clothing, per the company's own statement cited by WhatNow. Those offerings fall under Uniqlo's RE.UNIQLO services, which focus on garment repair and embroidery.
The Powell Street Chapter Uniqlo Is Leaving Behind
Uniqlo previously made its West Coast flagship debut in San Francisco in 2012 at 111 Powell Street, a 29,000-square-foot space near Union Square that permanently closed in March 2021, laying off 69 employees, according to SFGATE. That closure came amid a broader wave of retail departures from Union Square during the pandemic, the outlet reported at the time in a story Hoodline also covered as it happened.
Even without a downtown storefront after 2021, Uniqlo maintained a Bay Area presence anchored by its store at Stonestown Galleria, which has hosted a Uniqlo location since 2013, alongside suburban outposts in Emeryville, Daly City, Hillsdale, Concord, Milpitas, and Santa Clara, per SFGATE's account.
City Officials Courted the Retailer's Return
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie met with Uniqlo leadership in July 2025 to discuss downtown rejuvenation and expedited permitting before publicly hailing the retailer's return to Market Street as proof that the city's commercial core is recovering, SFGATE reported. Lurie's administration said San Francisco was open for business and regaining companies' trust, the outlet added.
The building at 801 Market Street, known as Pacific Place, is owned by Ponte Gadea California LLC, an investment arm of Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, founder of global fashion giant Zara, according to The Real Deal. Pontegadea also owns the 400 Post Street building, where Zara has announced plans to open a new four-story flagship store in 2026, relocating from its long-held spot at 250 Post Street, per the World Journal.
A High-Stakes Bet Amid Persistent Vacancies
The Market Street opening arrives as downtown San Francisco continues to battle high commercial vacancies, with Union Square retail vacancy at about 15%, down from a 22% peak in 2025. The city has launched initiatives like move-in grants and pop-up programs to try to fill vacant downtown storefronts, the outlet reported.
Uniqlo's parent company, Tokyo-based Fast Retailing, is expanding the retailer's North American presence, according to Retail TouchPoints. Uniqlo had 78 U.S. stores in 2025, according to SFGATE.
Uniqlo USA CEO Fuminori Adachi has said the brand's 2026 rollout of 11 new U.S. stores focuses on thoughtful growth by selecting key locations that deliver the full Uniqlo experience rather than expanding indiscriminately, Retail TouchPoints reported. That slate includes four new stores in New York City alongside flagships in San Francisco and Chicago, the outlet added — a rollout Hoodline has tracked separately in its coverage of Uniqlo's Chicago plans.
The 2026 expansion campaign coincides with the 20th anniversary of Uniqlo's North American entry, which began in 2006 with the launch of its global flagship store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, according to Fast Company. Uniqlo now operates over 2,500 stores globally under Fast Retailing, the outlet notes.
