Lamm has been stretching her dollar there for years. She used to buy clothing at Devil Dog for her children. Now she buys for her grandchildren.

"I like the quality of clothes and prices you can afford," said Lamm, of Bailey, as she rummaged through a box at her feet last week.

But loyal customers like Lamm only have about a month left to patronize the business known for selling its signature five-pocket jeans for $5 a pair. The jeans retail at $20 at department stores like Belk, J.C. Penney and Kohl's, said Richard Rosenstock, the manager of the store which will close Sept. 26 because of the economy and pressures from the global marketplace.

Rosenstock said products these days roll off the assembly line with sales' price tags on them. That means retailers can offer them for less, undercutting the factory stores' attractiveness to consumers.

Rosenstock also offered products he bought from other manufacturers to round out his store's offerings. But he can't compete with retailers on that front either.

But Rosenstock does expect to occasionally offer Devil Dog jeans at factory prices with special sales at the distribution center during the year.

"We used to do very well," said Rosenstock, a three-generation owner who won't divulge company sales figures.

The Devil Dog distribution center at 400 East Gannon Avenue in Zebulon will remain open as will the distribution center in Spring Hope, Rosenstock said. Devil Dog has 150 employees in the state.

At its peak of operations in North Carolina, Devil Dog employed 1,000 people in Wilson, Lucama, Bunn, Bailey, Newton Grove, Zebulon and Spring Hope..

The company used to operate sewing rooms at those locations, but pressures from the global market led to their closures in the mid-to-late 90s. Devil Dog has had a presence in Zebulon since 1954.

"We closed for survival," said Rosenstock whose grandfather, Louis Rosenstock, founded the company in the Catskill Mountains of New York in 1923. "We couldn't make the garments at the price the retailer wanted in the United States."

The company now has two manufacturing centers - in Honduras and Nicaragua.

And now, the times are calling in the chips for another Devil Dog fixture - the factory store.

The company has operated a factory store in Zebulon for 30 years, said Rosenstock, 15 years at its current location in the Wedgewood shopping center on West Gannon Avenue.

Rosenstock said he hears stories of generational buyers like Lamm often at the store.

"We've had some customers buying for their children and their parents bought for them," he said. "I talk to everybody who comes in the door. They say we're going to miss you. Where are we going to find the clothes so cheap?"