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View Poll Results: Which one is the most important?
Bay Area 299 56.95%
Boston 100 19.05%
Philadelphia 102 19.43%
Confused 24 4.57%
Voters: 525. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 01-15-2015, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Crooklyn, New York
31,924 posts, read 34,421,649 times
Reputation: 14996

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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
Sorry but you dont understand hun.

Anonelitist didnt say SF is only about boutiques.

Downtown SF also has:
Barneys New York
Bloomingdale's
Macy's
Macy's Men's Store
Neiman Marcus
Nordstrom
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue Men's Store

^The largest Bloomingdale's outside it's NYC flagship
^The largest Nordstrom outside of it's Seattle flagship
^The 3rd largest Macy's
^The largest Neiman Marcus Store

Not to mention 500+ other retailers including boutiques such as Armani, Chanel, Dior, Louboutin, Prada, Valentino etc.

So yes, as far as DOWNTOWN shopping in the US is concerned, SF is only surpassed by NYC and only rivaled by Chicago.

Unless you can prove otherwise.
Good to see the NYC love.
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:43 AM
 
Location: The City
22,379 posts, read 38,711,733 times
Reputation: 7975
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
Sorry but you dont understand hun.

Anonelitist didnt say SF is only about boutiques.

Downtown SF also has:
Barneys New York
Bloomingdale's
Macy's
Macy's Men's Store
Neiman Marcus
Nordstrom
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue Men's Store

^The largest Bloomingdale's outside it's NYC flagship
^The largest Nordstrom outside of it's Seattle flagship
^The 3rd largest Macy's
^The largest Neiman Marcus Store

Not to mention 500+ other retailers including boutiques such as Armani, Chanel, Dior, Louboutin, Prada, Valentino etc.

So yes, as far as DOWNTOWN shopping in the US is concerned, SF is only surpassed by NYC and only rivaled by Chicago.

Unless you can prove otherwise.
and Philly according to Conde Nast
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:44 AM
 
5,546 posts, read 6,835,111 times
Reputation: 3826
LOL! I was hoping you would say SF is the king of boutique AND national retailers. All roads lead to SF. It's funny, I took the 23 bus from South Philly to go to CC for some drinks the other night and I ended up in downtown SF!
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:56 AM
 
1,353 posts, read 1,631,767 times
Reputation: 817
^^^Between these cities it is. A post further up indicated that Conde Naste implied Philly has better boutique shopping than the other two. However, that is just plain not true. SF has the wealth and a shopping/international/tourism scene to "curate" the best shopping of any kind of these three.

Also, Philly's in a state where if a Gap or Starbucks wanted to open up somewhere, it would be encouraged as the city tries to gentrify and remove blight. SF is in a position to literally ban them (and does) in most of the city because there is a chance that a boutique clothing and boutique coffee shop could go there instead.

So, ummm, yea.
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Old 01-15-2015, 09:59 AM
 
Location: The City
22,379 posts, read 38,711,733 times
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Agree nothing can compare to SF

we welcome pawn shops and check cashing places - but only mom and pop pawn shops - no national stuff
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Old 01-15-2015, 10:05 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia
11,999 posts, read 12,858,763 times
Reputation: 8360
LMAO-I think the point that a city has become way too gentrified/devoid of culture is when you need to enforce legislation to ban Starbucks and Gap.

Silly San Franciscans LOL!
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Old 01-15-2015, 10:10 AM
 
5,546 posts, read 6,835,111 times
Reputation: 3826
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonelitist View Post
^^^Between these cities it is. A post further up indicated that Conde Naste implied Philly has better boutique shopping than the other two. However, that is just plain not true. SF has the wealth and a shopping/international/tourism scene to "curate" the best shopping of any kind of these three.

Also, Philly's in a state where if a Gap or Starbucks wanted to open up somewhere, it would be encouraged as the city tries to gentrify and remove blight. SF is in a position to literally ban them (and does) in most of the city because there is a chance that a boutique clothing and boutique coffee shop could go there instead.

So, ummm, yea.
No question downtown shopping is better in SF than Philly. But how many middle-class residents with close proximity to that world class shopping can afford to enjoy those amazing offerings after paying $3k for an 800 sq. ft studio?

A reasonable COL combined with a great urban environment is priceless.
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Old 01-15-2015, 10:26 AM
 
1,353 posts, read 1,631,767 times
Reputation: 817
$3k wouldn't get you 800 sf in SF, which is huge. Just ftr.

Also, SF has rent control and is filled with both middle and lower class populations, and immigrants. Despite the insane costs for people moving there now.

Also, SF is fully "gentrified" in that every neighborhood has shopping, arts, nightlife, etc. Not every neighborhood is 100% exclusively rich techies/trust fund babies. Many neighborhoods in SF are a mix of incomes. There is low income housing mixed amongst $30M mansions in Pac Heights. So Filmore St through Pac Heights has a few grandfathered boutique chains such as what you'd find on Walnut St in Philly, and a large mixture of independent boutiques catering to all incomes selling a variety of things. That's shopping in SF.

Also, boutiques by their nature of being independent are more expensive. Usually wealthy cities always do better in this department. SF produces the best independent coffee shops in America. It also produces some of the best boutiques that later grow and open up elsewhere, too. Look for a "Marine Layer" to open up sometime on Passyunk or nearby. It was originally 1 store in SF appropriately named. Now it probably has 5-8 stores nationwide, including 2-3 in SF. That's the level SF is at on a wide scale.

And I think having literally a law against chains and a very noticeable lack of chains throughout the city yet still fielding one of the highest concentrations/square footages of retail is a telling sign that SF dominates these two cities in this regard. There's so much retail you'll find a grandfathered Diesel or G-Star or Jack Spade somewhere next to 5 equivalent competing boutiques, in various random neighborhoods throughout most of the entire city.

Also, there were protests when Jack Spade and Steven Alan opened "boutiques" in Hayes Valley and the Mission. They had just under 14 locations at that point and so bypassed the formula retail ban, however, the people of SF literally protested against their openings because they felt "chains" were invading the neighborhoods (and formula retail was then revised to say anything with >11 locations internationally is considered a chain). THAT is not bound to happen in Philly at this point.

You really have no idea until you come to SF and see for yourself why it's such a destination for retailers and why rents are so high - there is sooooo much retail, most of it independent, but you still have the downtown factor, and despite the lower population than Philly, there is sooo much potential discretionary money in SF to spend on clothing/accessories/food (hence the world class food scene), etc etc. It's wayyyyyy on a different level. WAYYYY
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Old 01-15-2015, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,251 posts, read 10,503,774 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AJNEOA View Post
No question downtown shopping is better in SF than Philly. But how many middle-class residents with close proximity to that world class shopping can afford to enjoy those amazing offerings after paying $3k for an 800 sq. ft studio?

A reasonable COL combined with a great urban environment is priceless.
Exactly. While SF obviously performs better at the high-end, there is also no doubt that Philadelphia has an incredibly well-rounded retail scene, which is also heavily dominated by independents.
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Old 01-15-2015, 11:17 AM
 
1,353 posts, read 1,631,767 times
Reputation: 817
SF performs better across all ends of the retail spectrum. It is a vastly superior retail city even more well known for its independents (likewise its notable independent and distinct neighborhoods) than its big city DT shopping.
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