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Cotopaxi store with broken window
Cotopaxi鈥檚 San Francisco retail store has been repeatedly targeted for break-ins in the past year. (Photo: Davis Smith)
国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal

Cotopaxi Closes San Francisco Store After Repeated Break-Ins

Crime has forced the company to shutter one retail location

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(Photo: Davis Smith)

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Citing lawlessness and 鈥渃haos,鈥 CEO Davis Smith on his personal LinkedIn page yesterday that he has closed the company鈥檚 sole San Francisco retail location.

鈥淎s of today, we are closing the store due to rampant organized theft and lack of safety for our team,鈥 Smith wrote on October 18. 鈥淥ur store is hit by organized theft rings several times per week.鈥

In a call with 国产吃瓜黑料, Smith explained that the closure is due to concerns about employee safety, and that employees are being paid while the store is shuttered. Smith said he hopes the closure is temporary, although he can鈥檛 be sure.

鈥淭hanks to that [LinkedIn] post, San Francisco city leaders reached out to me and we鈥檙e going to meet tomorrow,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 getting a lot of response before. It鈥檚 not that people don鈥檛 care, it鈥檚 just overwhelming. This is something that got attention, though, and I鈥檓 hopeful for some conversations and some solutions.鈥

Smith said that, starting the first week after the store opened a year ago in the city鈥檚 Hayes Valley neighborhood,聽its windows were repeatedly broken out and merchandise stolen. Plywood and, eventually, wrought iron grates were installed. Then, a few weeks ago, groups of people began rushing into the store and stealing merchandise, so the store began locking the door and opening only for customers. The thieves adapted their tactics by sending one person to the door posing as a customer and then rushing in when the door was unlocked.

Plywood on a shop window
The store tried installing plywood in the windows to prevent further theft. It didn鈥檛 help. (Photo: Davis Smith)

鈥淢ultiple times in the last week this happened,鈥 Smith told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚 got a message from the manager two days ago that this happened again, and that our employees were afraid for their safety. We made the decision right then that we couldn鈥檛 put our employees in that situation, and decided to close and continue to pay them until we could figure out what to do.鈥

A (SFDHSH) report released in August stated that 20,000 people are currently experiencing homelessness in the city. That figure represents 2.5 percent of the city鈥檚 total population. Despite city-housing programs, for every person housed, four will become unhoused because SFHSH has 鈥渘ot been able to keep pace with inflow of people who become newly homeless or return to homelessness throughout the year,鈥 . Substance abuse, unemployment, mental illness, and dislocation from California wildfires are some of the reasons the report listed as contributing to the problem.

As for theft in the city, larceny is up by 15 percent compared to this time last year, the San Francisco Police Department, though burglaries have dropped by 21 percent in the same period.

鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, but San Francisco appears to have descended into a city of chaos,鈥 Smith wrote in his post. 鈥淢any streets and parks are overrun with drugs, criminals, and homelessness, and local leadership and law enforcement enable it through inaction. One of the most beautiful and amazing cities in the world is now a place where many no longer feel safe visiting or living.鈥

Smith said it鈥檚 important to not equate homelessness with criminality, but that both issues have made it difficult聽for Cotopaxi to continue operating its retail operations聽in San Francisco.

As Smith wrote in his post, 鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible for a retail store to operate in these circumstances, especially when cities refuse to take any action (despite us paying taxes well above any other state we operate in). The city recently announced a reduction of police presence in this neighborhood, despite mass-scale crime.鈥

In his call with 国产吃瓜黑料, Smith said he understands the city鈥檚 problems require much more than increased police presence.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not after Band-Aid solutions. We know it鈥檚 not just more police on the street; we鈥檙e looking for long-term problem solving and asking how we can be part of that,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淎s a brand that鈥檚 committed to helping lift communities, this is something we鈥檙e thinking a lot about鈥攈ow can we help? These issues are complex and it鈥檚 going to require governments, business, nonprofits, and citizens to work together to create real solutions.鈥

Smith grew up throughout Latin America and founded Cotopaxi in 2014 with the intention of helping impoverished communities there. Since then, the B Corp company has helped 1.3 million people living in poverty by distributing grants to humanitarian organizations, funding emergency housing assistance, awarding small-business loans, and other efforts. Smith said while the problems in the U.S. are different than what he鈥檚 seen in other countries, he鈥檚 hoping to apply some of what he鈥檚 learned to finding solutions here.

鈥淲hen I posted, I didn鈥檛 expect the kind of attention that this would receive,鈥 he said. 鈥淎 lot of times we love celebrating wins as business leaders, and I think it鈥檚 important to share things that aren鈥檛 going well, too. That was the hope of my post: a rally cry to ask what we can do to help positive change. How can we work with other businesses and city leadership to do something?鈥

Cotopaxi currently has 10 retail locations across the U.S., with plans to open 10 more in 2023. Smith said he hopes San Francisco remains a home base for one.

鈥淲e hope we can open the store again,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淲e love San Francisco. But we can鈥檛 reopen until we know that our employees will be safe. We still have four years left on our lease, but nothing is worth even thinking about risking the safety and welfare of our team members. I spoke out about our difficulties to start a dialogue that hopefully leads to positive change. It鈥檚 our mission to , and we鈥檙e willing to work hard with others to see good come out of this.鈥

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Lead Photo: Davis Smith

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