"The rents are skyrocketing," he said. "It's been horrendous. Chain stores can come in, see if they make it for five years--it's just a drop in the bucket compared to an ad in the Super Bowl-- but we just can't afford to do that."
And as long as national corporations are willing to pay exorbitant rents for the prestige of a Square location, the prices will just keep rising, Slate said.
But it's not just the idea of a new national corporation in the Square that has raised objections.
"People have complained about the sign being very large, very red and very overwhelming," Lapidus said.
Luggage World, where Bob Backman has worked for 25 years, is Staples' next-door neighbor in the Crimson Galleria.
"I'm not happy being next to a store with a storefront that has decided to completely cover up their windows with red," Backman said, "They have a right to be here--the same as anyone else--but their image is just not conducive to the way the Square looks."
Despite the objections, Lapidus said storeowners have been much less vocal in complaining about Staples than they have been in the past.
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