Santa Monica MUJI Stores Close Due To Pandemic

SANTA MONICA, CA — Main Street is changing in the wake of the coronavirus, with MUJI closing its doors and removing all of its minimalistic household goods, office supplies and travel items permanently at the location at 2936 Main St, Santa Monica.

The Japanese retailer opened in Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade location—the largest West Coast store—in 2018. The store on Third Street also appears to be closed. It's unclear if the closure is permanent.

Patch reached out to the company for more information about the store closures.

The company reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is failing to pay rent in the U.S. It is $64M in debt, according to Financial Times.

MUJI started in Japan in 1980 and has more than 400 stores in Japan. The company opened its first store outside Japan in London in 1991, adding more than 400 locations since then.

The retailer announced it would close unprofitable U.S. stores back in July. MUJI USA had opened 16 stores in the U.S., including seven in California, six in the New York City area and a store at JFK Airport.

The MUJI store on Main Street in Santa Monica replaced a former Patagonia location and opened back in 2014.

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