SEATTLE — Another major business made waves in Seattle Tuesday when it announced it was lessening its physical presence in the Emerald City.
Target is closing two of its Seattle locations, one in the University District and one in Ballard, in late October. The company cited theft and organized retail crime as factoring into the decision to close the two Seattle-area stores as well as seven other locations across four states.
Twenty-two Target locations will still be open in the Seattle area, according to the company.
The University District Partnership released a statement about the closure that read, in part:
"Target’s departure will be a loss for the U District and points to a much larger issue facing our city. Theft and organized retail crime continue to thrive, unchecked in Seattle–facilitated by loosely regulated online marketplaces and fueled by the insatiable demand of the current fentanyl crisis. Our local leaders must continue to act with great urgency to stem the impacts of this ecosystem on our city."
Target wasn't the first business to announce it was limiting its Seattle scope this year.
In January, Nike announced its downtown Seattle store, which had been operational since 1996, was closed down.
An Amazon Go store on Fifth Avenue and Marion Street shuttered in June after the company said it would reevaluate underperforming locations in February.
Not all of these businesses cited retail crime or theft as the direct or indirect reason for the closures, but a July report from the Seattle City Auditor shed light on the extent of the issue.
In 2022, Seattle police got 13,103 calls from the top 100 retail locations in the city. Responding to those calls cost police officers more than 18,000 hours of time, which the report said is equivalent to the annual work of nine full-time patrol officers.
