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Greetings & Readings To Close After 49 Years

BALTIMORE CO., Md. (WJZ) -- Greetings & Readings is closing next month after 49 years in business in Baltimore County.

The store in Hunt Valley Towne Center, which employs 80 people, will close Sunday, Jan. 20, because of declining sales caused by online competition.

According to a release from the store, sales have dropped continue to drop in recent years.

"We began to see sales decline by up to 3% starting with the recession of 2008 but we were always able to change product lines to compensate," Steven Baum, president of the store, said in a release. "This year sales are off 15%. The cost to cut this space down, in this retail environment, would never be recouped."

The store opened in 1969 in Loch Raven Plaza in Towson. Phyllis Baum, who is credited with naming the store, is now 85 and still works at the store four days a week with her family.

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