Reliability which Saturday closed the door on more than 35 years of business.

Citing the last few as break-even years, president Adley Madeiros, said he refused to let the sluggish economy drag him into debt. He will have the company wound up, instead.

And Mr. Madeiros echoed a warning that more small businesses will close. He was uncertain that changes to the duty structure would materially help retailers.

And he saw no likelihood that overseas shopping was going to subside anytime in the foreseeable future. He knows of various retail establishments having a difficult time.

"This is a trend and it is not stopping any time soon. People are enjoying life for today, not knowing if they are going to be here tomorrow. So they will take the trips when they become available and while traveling, they will have money to spend, and they will spend it, even if there is a better deal here at home. It's human nature.

"A lot of small businesses are hurting. Quite a few have already closed.

There are also one or two bigger companies that are having troubles. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be more closures.

"You either cut your losses, or keep losing and continue to put yourself further in debt.'' Mr. Madeiros said that he expected no difficulty in meeting the firm's commitments. The sole owner of the retail outlet conceded he had no immediate plans.

He said candidly, "We are closing because we are not making any money. I'm tired of working just to make ends meet. The retail business is really bad and we have been fighting it for three or four years.'' "Retail is not making money and people are going away to buy. I don't have a problem with people shopping overseas. But I'm not going to work just to break even. I may as well go work for someone else and do without the headaches.'' Mr. Madeiros is also considering selling the two city buildings the clothing store has been operating out of on Church Street. The property consists of a three storey building, together with a rear building and a parking lot.

He said, "I've been thinking of closing the shop for many months but just never had the guts to actually do it. But then we had no winter stock brought in. I said I would do that so that I would have to make a final decision on a closing date.'' Mr. Madeiros said, "A lot of people are very upset about it. People always knew they could get a bargain at my place. We had steady clientele in the medium to low price range. They wanted me to stay open, but what was I supposed to do.''