Whitehorse's Bootlegger store will close on Jan. 11.

According to store manager Nicole Kremer, the company chose not to renew its lease in the Hougen Centre for this year.

As far as Kremer is aware, Bootlegger does not plan to open up at a different location in Whitehorse.

'Bootlegger was still making money, (but) as far as I know, they exercised their option to leave the Yukon,' she said.

'Our traffic was down, but sales were OK,' she added.

Sonja Janoss, a marketing manager with the Hougen Group, said Bootlegger's departure has nothing to do with differences between the Hougen Group and the company.

Kremer said Bootlegger's departure comes as a shock to many.

'Our target market is 17-22-year-olds. There will now be a huge hole in the Whitehorse clothing market,' Kremer said.

Bootlegger marketing director Dustin May said from Vancouver the closure of the Whitehorse store was a business decision.

'We do assessments of each market on an ongoing basis... based on sales performance,' May said.

An executive with Comark Inc., the company that owns Bootlegger, refused to comment on any details related to the store's closure beyond the fact the lease has expired.

Those who would like to return Bootlegger merchandise have until Jan. 11 to do so.

If the deadline is missed at the Whitehorse store, garments can be returned to any of Canada's 113 Bootlegger stores or affiliated stores such as Cleo or Ricki's.

Kremer said expressions of dismay or support of the Whitehorse Bootlegger closure should be sent to: customerservice@bootlegger.com.