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COPYRIGHT 2004 Winston-Salem Journal
Byline: M. Paul Jackson
Jul. 18--By the time you read this, Riley's Discount Furniture on Jonestown Road will be shutting down.
The store plans to close Monday, the victim of rising furniture prices and changing customer trends.
Trends started, in part, because of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The independent furniture seller, in the shadow of the Wal-Mart supercenter on Hanes Mall Boulevard, had to scale back on much of the furniture it used to sell, in part because Wal-Mart has priced it out of some markets, said Chris Marsh, the store's sales promotional manager. Simply put, customers found cheaper chairs across the street.
Wal-Mart's ability to negotiate prices through its purchasing strength gives it a greater advantage over smaller businesses, Marsh said. "The man who buys the most, gets the best deal," he said.
But Riley's isn't the only small business feeling the impact from the nation's largest retailer.
As city officials mull whether to approve a new, mammoth Wal-Mart on Reynolda Road, the company has become the center of a controversy about the future of small businesses in some areas.
As Wal-Mart increasingly attempts to expand into major cities, it is forcing smaller retailers out of business, costing them jobs, damaging residential neighborhoods and hurting independent businessmen, critics say.
But the history of the retailer isn't so simple. Wal-Mart has long had a close relationship with Winston-Salem, providing jobs, contributing to the tax base and buying goods from two of its largest suppliers, local companies R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Sara Lee Corp.'s branded-apparel division.
Indeed, when Sam's Club -- a discount bulk retailer owned by the...
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