Seattle is a mixed market right now when it comes to retail. Downtown is still in recovery mode while nearby shopping centers are thriving with limited vacancies. The new Bloomies received a warm welcome at University Village over the holiday season, Zulily is in liquidation mode, REI has announced new layoffs, Eddie Bauer has a new logo, and Lunar New Year events are popping up around town. Here’s an overview of the Seattle retail scene.

Retail News

Seattle’s Pacific Place Shopping Center (located at 600 Pine St.) is now under new management. In mid-January, Toronto-based Avison Young announced that it is now managing the retail assets for Madison Marquette, who acquired the property in 2014 for $271 million.

In a recent interview with Joey Thompson of the Puget Sound Business Journal, Heather Almond, senior director of U.S. retail services at Avison Young shared, "Our goal is to reinforce Pacific Place as a vibrant community hub of retail, entertainment, and dining that contributes to the resurgence of downtown. Our leasing team is working on finding the right tenants to serve and interest the community in different categories that will provide long-term stability for Pacific Place. This will take time, but they’re excited about interest from prospective tenants."

Downtown retail continues to struggle. With high hopes that the retail scene will bounce back in 2024, we are still a long way from full recovery. According to the Washington State Department of Revenue, in the second quarter of 2023, the retail industry in King County made $7.69 billion in sales, a decrease of 3.13% compared to the same quarter in 2022. This is due to a variety of factors including high vacancy rates, crime, homelessness, and remote work. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that the retail vacancy rate in downtown Seattle hit 12.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Oiselle appointed a new CEO in October of last year. Arielle Knutson, formerly the VP of Marketing at Nuun Hydration has taken the reigns. Knutson will be tasked with continuing to grow the Oiselle brand, building retail partnerships, and creating events and experiences for women in the running and active lifestyle space.

Uniqlo will continue to accelerate its growth in North America with new stores across the U.S. and Canada in 2024. New stores are coming this spring to Tacoma Mall and Alderwood Mall.

Bloomies is now open at University Village. The 18,000-square-foot space (formerly occupied by H&M) opened in October of 2023 and features a curated mix of brands including Anine Bing, Aqua, Maje, Steve Madden, French Connection, and more.

Shein plans to move into an office in downtown Bellevue and have more than 50 employees based in the office by the end of the year. , as it expands its reach in the U.S. The company will occupy 10,000 square feet at Key Center in Bellevue.

Zulily’s remaining inventory will be sold off by a liquidation firm and proceeds will be used to pay Zulily creditors. The inventory, which includes apparel and houseware items, is valued at more than $85 million, according to a Tuesday news release by the company. Once valued at nearly $9 billion, Zulily changed hands multiple times before growth eventually slowed and declined. In December, the company announced that it was going out of business. The weekend before its official closure announcement, the Seattle Times reported that Zulily laid off more than 800 workers, including close to 300 at its Seattle headquarters located on Elliott Avenue.

Fast Company reported last fall that outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer changed its logo because Gen Z doesn’t read cursive. The new block letter logo also includes a goose. By fall 2024, all Eddie Bauer products will begin to feature the updated logo.

Alo Yoga is opening a new store at Bellevue Square this summer.

Specialty outdoor retailer REI recently announced that it will open its first store in southern Utah in St. George in 2025. The new store will join three other existing retail locations in the market including Salt Lake City, Sandy, and Farmington.

It’s not all growth for REI. The company announced a new round of layoffs last week, which will include 200 people in their corporate office. In February 2023, REI laid off 167 people as part of a corporate restructure. In October, the outdoor retailer cut 275 people in a store operations overhaul. REI has about 16,000 employees and about 180 locations in the U.S., according to its website.

Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA) is seeking additional dining and retail bids for ita C Concourse expansion. More info.

Tourism and special Events

Cruise Ship Season - The 2023 cruise season ended in October 2023 and hosted 291 cruise ships with a record 1,778,193 passengers. The cruise ship season brings in almost a million people every year to the Port of Seattle.

NHL Impact

Visit Seattle estimates the game and its 47,313 attendees, who witnessed the Kraken defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0, generated $30 million in economic impact for the city.

Hospitality notes

A boutique hotel with rooftop pickleball courts is planned for a vacant site in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood. Hummel Architects filed plans earlier this week for the five-floor hotel at 1551 W. Armory Way (on the back side of Whole Foods next to Total Wine) which call for 22 suites and 19 pickleball courts, in addition to a restaurant and bar. The news was first reported by the Daily Journal of Commerce. Ten of the courts will be on the rooftop, plans show, including some with overhead shade screens as well as accommodation for spectator bleachers. There will also be a pro shop and locker room.

DowntownBellevue.com is reporting that the official opening date for the InterContinental Bellevue has been pushed out until mid-April. The hotel was originally planned to open in October 2023.

Lunar New Year events

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon. This year Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, February 10th, 2024, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 24, 2024. Here is a round-up of local events to check out:

The Bellevue Collection is hosting a Lunar New Year celebration on Sat. Feb. 3 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. More info.

The Village at Totem Lake is hosting a Lunar New Year celebration on Sat. Feb. 3 from 1-3 p.m. More info.

University Village is hosting a Lunar New Year celebration on Friday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. featuring a special performance by the Mak Fai Dragon Dancers. More info.

Pacific Place is celebrating Lunar New Year on Saturday, Feb. 10 from 2-4 p.m. featuring a drum show and dragon performance. More info.

Galentines Day event

Join Gossip & Glamour x Styled Seattle for a special Galentine’s Day meet-up at W Bellevue on Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 6-8 p.m. in the Living Room Bar. More info.

Save the Date

University Village is hosting a special property-wide International Women’s Day event on Friday, March 8th. More to come. Save the date!

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