CHARLESTON (KFSM) -- One of the Walmart stores closing brought business competition to a local town.
But, now that the Walmart is closing, their competitors could raise their prices.
The Walmart Neighborhood Market in Charleston had been open for one year and one day exactly when the announcement was mad that it would be one of the eleven Walmart closing in Arkansas.
Charleston mayor, Sherman Hiatt, said when the store opened a year ago, other stores in town lowered their prices.
“They like the atmosphere of having two grocery stores, two pharmacies, two gas stations,” Mayor Hiatt said. “It gave a sense of a little bit of competition, which seemed to be working better for the consumer.”
After Thursday, January 28th, Charleston will be left with only one pharmacy, gas station and grocery store again.
“It's a mixed thing,” CVs manager, Scott Merrill, said. “I mean, we always feel bad for people losing their job, but we welcome the business that it will bring us.”
Merrill said the store's prices have stayed competitive with Walmart's, but without Walmart, will they raise their prices?
“No, we have no plan to raise any prices,” Merrill said.
Merrill said CVs will continue doing business the same way they always have.
“We just look at it as an opportunity to do the best we can and provide services to the customers,” Merrill said.
Mayor Hiatt said some of the other businesses might not say the same.
“We don't know if the existing businesses will take advantage of not having competition and raise their prices back,” Hiatt said.
Hiatt said Walmart wants to sell the land to another company, and that there's a possibility of a Casey's General Store coming to Charleston.