41.   Part of big store anxiety is seeing yourself as part of a massive feeding, buying machine.

42.   Seemingly, the plan for combining forces was to have L.A. Gear concentrate on big stores like Wal-Mart while Ryka focused on high-end retailers.

43.   Small merchants worry that the big stores could drain the lifeblood of many neighborhood shopping districts.

44.   Sixty-five million is about the amount of money that a big Kroger store generates.

45.   Some of these young designers are really new in business, while some have been toiling in relative obscurity until a big store gave them a chance.

46.   So far this month, business at big stores is picking up speed, according to the first of two private-sector studies released today.

47.   Still, the big store has taken its toll on local business.

48.   Spencer is one of many successful entrepreneurs around the metro area who have taken advantage of the lower rents available from landlords desperate to fill big empty stores.

49.   The big stores, however, usually move in, and capitalism wins out in the end.

50.   The big stores, they said, are like factories, forcing customers to select from items chosen by some national distribution center.