Competition from national, online retailers forces local store to close

Nobody wants to pay full price anymore, the owner says.

Posted 3:36 p.m. Apr 23, 2013 — Updated 3:36 p.m. Apr 23, 2013

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

A quick update on my earlier post about SmartMomma in north Raleigh closing. I was sort of hoping that the shop featuring baby gear, toys and more was closing because the owners just decided they wanted to spend more time with their kids.

Unfortunately, owner Heather Burns, a mom of three, tells me that's not so. In fact, she'd love to stay open.

"We just can't compete with Buy Buy Baby and Amazon anymore," she tells me. "Nobody wants to pay full price anymore, and we were having to take Buy Buy Baby coupons and match Amazon pricing, and it just got unmanageable. I am sad to close."

A sale, where items are up to 75 percent off, began at 10 a.m., today. It continues until everything is sold.

"I'm not sure how long that will take, but we are trying to get out fast, so I have marked down everything aggressively," Burns tells me.

SmartMomma is at 8601-A Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh across from CarMax.

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