Retailers Worry Over I. Magnin Closure As Nike Eyes Seattle

As downtown Seattle businesses worry about what the closing of another major store will do to them, there is speculation that Nike is considering the I. Magnin site at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street as the site of a flashy Nike Town specialty store.

A Nike spokeswoman confirmed reports by local real-estate brokers that the Beaverton, Ore., company is studying Seattle along with other cities for a Nike Town center.

Nike Towns in Portland and Chicago have become popular shopping destinations because of their entertaining, high-tech environments and large displays of shoes and athletic wear. The Portland store draws up to 15,000 visitors a week.

The Portland Nike Town occupies about 20,000 square feet, but the Chicago outlet is three times larger, the same size as the Magnin store here.

Nike Town stores "are used to promote the products," said Bill Whitlow, Seattle stock analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. "You never see sales or discounted merchandise there."

New Nike Town centers are opening this spring in Atlanta and Orange County, Calif.

Other retailers reportedly looking for sites downtown include Crate & Barrel, J. Crew, Crown Books and Barnes & Noble. A large music-entertainment store could also be a candidate for the Magnin site, one real-estate broker said.

The Magnin store has been at its present site at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street, diagonally across from the now-empty Frederick & Nelson store, since 1954. Magnin first opened in Seattle in 1926 in the Skinner Building, at Fifth Avenue and Union Street.

A decision by Nike or another retail chain to locate in the Magnin building would ease growing fears about the viability of downtown retailing following the bankruptcy and closure of F&N last year.

Once a hub of the downtown shopping district, the Sixth and Pine intersection is suffering.

I. Magnin's demise "is part of the domino effect of the (F&N) closure," said Dick Outcalt of Outcalt & Johnson, a local retail consultant.

No new tenant has been found for the F&N building. Klopfenstein's, a men's and women's specialty retailer, moved from the north side of Pine in 1989 and went out of business last year.

Closing is June 30

The June 30 closing of I. Magnin is part of a plan announced yesterday by its parent company, R.H. Macy & Co., to shut 11 poorly performing stores as part of a five-year plan to regain profitability.

Neighboring retailers said yesterday they are afraid Magnin's closing will translate into decreased sales and hurt small businesses along Sixth Avenue.

"I think it's just scary on Sixth Avenue," said Traci Didomenicis, manager of Sbocco, a women's clothing store, across Sixth Avenue from I. Magnin. "What is it saying about this street?"

The drop in business since F&N's closing has been so bad that Joelle Marvin, owner of Joelle Classic for Her (formerly Stefanel) at 1525 Sixth Ave., says she will look for a new location rather than renew her lease. The Magnin closing reaffirms her decision not to stay, she said.

One potential stumbling block for finding a new tenant for the Magnin store is its size.

The four-story building is too large for a small retailer, and it's unlikely anyone would want to lease only the upper floors, if a retailer moves into the ground floor.

Brokers say the building might draw rents of $9 a square foot a year for the basement; $35 to $40 for the first and second floors and possibly $15 to $20 a foot on the upper floors. That compares with about $45 a square foot for main-floor space in the heart of downtown.

The building is owned by the Marshall family of Seattle; James K. Marshall, of Broadmoor, is the taxpayer of record. The King County assessor values the property at $3.18 million, of which $2.9 million represents the land value.

A Macy's spokesman said it was too early for the company to decide whether it could or would sublet the store. A spokesman for the Marshall family could not be reached.

Loyal, affluent clientele

In Seattle, Magnin attracted customers who tended to be affluent, fashion-conscious and loyal. Good service was part of the store's carriage-trade image, and sales associates often called regular customers to alert them to new shipments of clothes. But unlike its downtown neighbors, The Bon Marche and Nordstrom, I. Magnin has little to offer young customers looking for trendy, inexpensive fashion, or those on tight budgets.

Macy's, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in January 1992, has until Sept. 30 to come up with a plan to repay its creditors. In addition to closing six I. Magnin stores, Macy's said it would shutter Macy's branches in New Haven, Conn., and Morristown, N.J., and Bullock's stores in downtown Los Angeles, La Mesa and Lakewood, Calif.

Last year, Macy's closed eight department stores and 62 specialty stores.

Joe Peterson, president of Local 1001 of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, which represents about 60 Magnin employees in Seattle, planned to meet with company officials today to begin negotiating a severance package.

-- Times staff reporters Himanee Gupta, Nancy Bartley and Robin Updike contributed to this report.