Macy's to close South Bay store

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Macy's is getting ready to close more than a dozen stores across the country. One store in the South Bay is on the list.

Employees inside Macy's at Vallco Shopping Mall say the mood is somber with 111 of them losing their jobs.

"We usually have music playing 24/7, but for some reason, the music was off this morning. So, it's very quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Just very somber," said Rafael Duran has 14 years with Macy's.

Macy's says it's closing stores as consumers shift buying online. But there's another reason the Vallco store is closing. The mall itself is heading toward redevelopment as big box stores lose their appeal.

"I think there's too much competition for this one," said Macy's customer Darlene Medeiros.

A local developer last year purchased the Macy's store, along with the other two anchor stores: Sears and J.C. Penney. A J.C. Penney spokesman says he expects the Vallco store to remain open until at least March of 2016.

New construction is underway all around Vallco with mixed use retail and residential projects. So is the new Apple headquarters campus.

Everyone has an idea what they'd like for the 50-acre Vallco site.

"I think this is a great location to have a new store, like Nordstrom. I would love to have Nordstrom here< explained Lily Chung, a shopper.

One thing it won't be is a new Bloomingdale's. Macy's parent company has decided to build one at Valley Fair in San Jose.

There already is new development in the blocks surrounding Vallco, and if the city of Cupertino, along with the mall developer, can come up with an ideal plan, what is currently a white elephant soon could become a gold mine.