The newest store to open in Whitehorse was the 'last staple' in the Horwood's Office Supply Ltd. store's coffin, says owner James Horwood.

With its five-year lease on Main Street expiring next month, Horwood opted to close the store which has been in business for more than 30 years.

The opening of the Staples Business Depot at the Qwanlin Mall earlier this month played a part in his decision, Horwood said in an interview Wednesday.

However, it was a combination of other factors as well which made him close the store. He pointed to a bad economy as well as the larger chain stores like Staples and Wal-Mart coming to Whitehorse.

Though there are three office supply stores in town, the City of Whitehorse contracts an Outside company from Edmonton for supplies it could obtain locally, Horwood also pointed out.

'It's all part and parcel.'

Horwood said he'd rather take his investments elsewhere. Asked where that would be, he replied, 'Not Whitehorse.'

It's becoming increasingly difficult to do business here without being a multinational company, he noted.

'I don't want to be part of that race to the bottom,' Horwood said.

However, when it was announced last year Staples would be moving into the former Real Canadian Superstore premises at the mall, Horwood didn't appear to be worried about its impact on his business.

'So there has always been plenty of competition and having one more in town, in that end of town, will have some impact but minor,' he said at the time.

He pointed out that while Staples might carry two or three brands of a particular type of pen, Horwood's sells a range of 20 to 30 brands of pens.

On Wednesday, when it was noted he hadn't initially been worried about Staples' arrival, he replied, 'Well, we could hope.'

Over the past 14 years, since he's taken the store over, not a whole lot has changed, he said. The store still sells tape and filing cabinets like it always has, he said.

'It's a competitive business.'

Going through the new Staples outlet, Horwood said, he found a number of the products he carries to be cheaper in his store.

A type of receipt book at Staples, for example, costs $11.69, while at Horwood's, it's regularly $9.75. Until the store closes, Horwood's is selling everything at 25 per cent off the regular price, which brings the price of the receipt book down to $7.31.

Over the years, Horwood said, he's had a wonderful group of customers at the store.

Horwood's will close on May 14 unless the stock is sold off earlier.