By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Staples officials confirmed last week the closing of their Presque Isle store, located at 830 Main St. at the Aroostook Centre Mall.
“I can confirm the Presque Isle location is closing on Feb. 7, 2015,” said Carrie McElwee, public relations director for the national office supply business.
The company’s third quarter report for 2014, published on the Staples website on Nov. 19, indicated it had “closed 127 stores in North America year-to-date” and expected to “close approximately 170 stores in North America during 2014.” The site did not specify if the decision to close the Presque Isle branch was part of the 2014 closure plans or if additional closings might be in the works for 2015.
McElwee blamed increased use of online shopping for the decision to shut down the Presque Isle store, which opened in 2004.
“We continually evaluate our store performance to ensure we’re operating the business in the best way. As customers shift online, we are taking aggressive action to right-size our retail footprint. We are committed to providing great service and every product businesses need, whether it’s in-store, online or through mobile,” said McElwee. “Our customers in this area (Aroostook County) can continue to shop with us online at staples.com.”
Store Manager Darren Collins said he just got the news last week.
“I don’t have a lot of details yet, so I can’t comment on much. But I can confirm we’ll be closing in February,” he said.
“We have about 15 employees who’ll be affected by the closing. I’m confident in my staff — all are very employable. Hopefully they’ll easily find other positions in the area,” said Collins.
This marks the second recent closing of a major business at the Aroostook Centre Mall. In October, Sears announced it would be closing, effective January 2015. Like Collins, ACM Manager Patti Crooks said she found out about Staples closing last week as well.
“We’re in the process of revitalizing — a very hard task in these tough economic times. The key is we need people to support us locally. When a tenant says they’re closing because of online sales, people need to remember online jobs aren’t local,” said Crooks.
Crooks noted the area has three delivery agencies — UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.
“But what does that say about the person ringing up sales at a counter?” she said. “Retail is important; not everyone has Internet. The long-term effects of the Internet are not known.”
With the closing of the Grand Falls’ Staples about a year ago, and now the planned closing of the Presque Isle store, Crooks said the next nearest facility is Bangor.
“This is not a mall, county, state or Northeast problem. It’s a national issue. As long as we believe the sun rises and sets in the Internet — whether you’re phoning, texting, using a computer or whatever, the Internet is affecting everything in our lives,” Crooks said.
She said it’s one thing to admire the natural beauty the region offers, but it’s vitally important to support the livelihood of those around us.
“The problem is not unique to the mall; Family Dollar is closing too,” said Crooks. “We need to support our friends and neighbors; we need to believe in local.”
