The cost of transportation was a primary factor in the decision to close the local Fields department store Jan. 27 after 11-plus years, says the general manager of the retail chain.

Greg Crowder said the store was hit recently by the same market conditions that increased pressure on retailers across the board.

The company, however, has been trying for several years to keep the store open, but its remote location off Fourth Avenue and transportation costs proved to be too much of a challenge, he said.

"Whitehorse has been a store where we have struggled to make it successful,” he said this morning from the chain's corporate headquarters in Vancouver.

"We tried to make it go over the years, but have not been able to find the right formula.

"It's incredibly expensive to move product to Whitehorse.”

Crowder said Fields strives to deliver the same price for goods in all of its stores, but by the time transportation bills were factored in, it didn't add up.

"We had a very co-operative landlord who worked with us and everything, and the community gave us some pretty good support but it was just not enough to make it work,” he said.

Crowder said the store employs seven full- and part-time staff members.

As a subsidiary of the Hudson Bay Company, Fields normally attempts to find work for employees in similar circumstances elsewhere in Hudson Bay's structure of retailers but no such option exists here, he said.

Crowder explained the decision to close the store was made last October, when a couple of other stores down south were also struggling, and it came down to closing the Whitehorse operation.

The arrival of Wal-Mart in late 2001 had some impact, just as Wal-Mart affected all retailers, but it was not a factor in deciding to close, he said.

Crowder said the Whitehorse location hurt a little.

In cases where Fields is located within walking distance of its consumers, even where it's within walking distance of a Wal-Mart, it tends to do well, he explained.

But when consumers have to hop in their vehicles, Crowder added, the stores don't normally do as well.

He said the franchise had at one time looked at other locations in Whitehorse.

Goods at the Fields store are anywhere from 20 to 75 per cent off the regular prices today, depending on the department.

Crowder said sales will only get better right up until and including the last day, though shoppers might want to go early, as the store is not receiving any new supplies.

"I want to thank the Whitehorse consumers, and we are sorry to be leaving,” he said, but added that doesn't mean Fields won't ever be back.