As has been pretty widely predicted, Saks Fifth Avenue has officially announced the closure of its Union Square store — which has been operating on an "appointment only" basis since last summer.

When Saks Fifth Avenue laid off much of its staff and went "appointment only" last July, it was broadly seen as a last step before a likely closure — one that has felt all the more inevitable after the closure of Bloomingdale's, and last year's announcement of the ultimate closure of Macy's in Union Square, though that has not yet occurred or been given a date.

It seemed all the more likely that Saks would let go of this leased property at Post and Powell after the brand's parent corporation, the Hudson Bay Company (HBC), completed its deal to acquire Neiman Marcus and that store's property diagonally across Union Square, at Geary and Stockton.

When that real estate deal was disclosed a month ago, Saks' corporate office issued a  vague denial that anything more was happening, saying, "We continue to serve our San Francisco customers at our Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus stores, and have nothing more to share at this time."

But now, as SFGate confirms today, Saks will be closing the Union Square store as of May 10.

A spokesperson for the company denies that there is any "broader plan" to eventually merge the Saks and Neiman Marcus brands — though that would make sense!

They only told SFGate, "While we saw meaningful engagement and success through the appointment-only format, we have made this decision as part of our integration process as we focus on long-term growth."

While this is not great news for Union Square, it is not really new news, given the fact that Saks has essentially not been open to the public for nine months.

On the brighter side of things, right across the street from Saks at 400 Post, Zara will be moving into a new, four-story flagship store next year, as announced two weeks ago. A Nintendo store is coming down the block at 331 Powell Street, opening May 15. And John Varvatos announced that it will be moving its store out of the beleaguered SF Centre mall and back to street level, at 58 Geary Sreet — the former Alexander McQueen.

That move had Union Square Alliance CEO Marisa Rodriguez making a call for more retailers to return to Union Square, especially as the mall continues its death spiral. "J. Crew should be here. Coach should be here. Hugo Boss should be here. Now is the time because pretty soon those [vacant] spaces will fill up."

Previously: Saks Could Be the Next Major Retailer to Exit Union Square