A locally owned store carrying baby furniture and supplies is going out of business after nine years in Frisco.

Crowded out by larger baby stores attracted to Frisco's growth, owner Mike Schaul's Lone Star Baby & Kids, at 9380 Prestmont Place, will close the end of March. The store's closeout sale began Jan. 2 and will run through closing.

Fifteen employees—some of whom have been with the company since its inception—will lose their jobs.

Schaul said Lone Star Baby & Kids preceded stores such as Buy Buy Baby and Rooms To Go Kids, but has had trouble competing with big box stores who have "more muscle."

"It's really difficult for a family-owned business to compete with the interest drawn by the big box stores," Schaul said. "It's sad when the small business is crowded out."

While business was good in the first part of 2012, it has petered off since then, Schaul said.

"We did as best we could for the time we were here," he said. "The last several years have been extremely difficult."

The power of Internet marketing, particularly, makes it tough for small, locally owned businesses to compete.

That increased online presence, combined with market saturation, has been the downfall for the smaller Lone Star Baby & Kids, Schaul said.

Schaul said for a long time, not many stores sold a wide selection of baby items. Now many stores carry those items, from Walmart, to Target, to the specialty stores such as Buy Buy Baby. Those larger stores also have a large online presence.

Company history

While the Frisco store opened in 2004 and is the last Lone Star Baby & Kids location still open, the business did not begin in Frisco.

After selling an import clothing business in Wisconsin, Schaul jumped into the baby furniture and accessory business in 2001 in Richardson with The Baby's Room / USA Baby franchise. His plans at the time were to open three to five stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

He opened a second store in Arlington in late 2002, then in 2004 opened the flagship location in Frisco at the Prestmont/Ohio intersection.

With a change of ownership of The Baby's Room / USA Baby Franchise in 2005, Schaul decided to go out on his own. In 2007, he rebranded his stores to reflect what is now Lone Star Baby & Kids.

Schaul said business was good until the economic downturn of 2008 and the expansion of two major baby store chains into the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

In early 2011, Schaul closed his two other stores, keeping only the Frisco location open.