The store has been trading on the corner of Coral and Ocean streets continuously as Bells since it was purchased in 1894 by David Bell, but will close its doors before the end of next month.

Financial pressures have forced the current owners to make the difficult decision to close the business after operating it for the past 11 years.

The closure will result in seven staff being retrenched, but a part-owner, Mark Thwaites hopes a new tenant for the building, which he does not own, might take on the staff.

“The staff have been absolutely fantastic and the closure is no reflection on them,” Mr Thwaites said.

The business is expected to be placed into the hands of a receiver, but this is unlikely to have any financial impact on local suppliers.

Mr Thwaites, who has been very active in pushing economic development and business in the city, believes much of the financial pressure has been created by people not shopping locally.

He believes that had a major chain retailer like Big W opened in the area sooner, it could have helped save the retailing icon.

“We have poured every available cent into the business in the expectation that Victor Harbor will show signs of growing and that an expanded regional shopping centre would bring more people to Victor Harbor and stop the leakage out of the town,” Mr Thwaites said.

A fourth-generation clothing retailer, Mr Thwaites has been associated with similar businesses in a number of South Australian regional centres such as Whyalla and Murray Bridge, but says retailing in Victor Harbor is the toughest he’s experienced.

“I would suspect many businesses around here would be in much the same boat, and for many of them it’s about lifestyle and making money isn’t the prime motivation.

“While we have a population of 14,000 people we are the oldest local government area in Australia. With so many people on fixed incomes and pensioners, we probably have a spend ratio of a town of 6-7000 people.

“There wouldn’t be too many towns of that size that could sustain a business like Bells.”

The size of the store and the need to carry a wide range of items meant that stock costs could be as high as $350-$400,000, making it difficult to sustain a profitable business.

As well, when the business was purchased, Mr Thwaites said Myer withdrew use of the Myer card at the Bells Store, which hit hard.

Mr Thwaites said the past six months and, in particularly the last three, have been the most difficult he’d experienced since purchasing the business from David’s Holdings in 1997.

He put this down to the high petrol prices, problems with the US and world economies, the Australia-wide decline in retail sales and the media talking down the economy.

“At this time of year we rely very heavily on the women bringing their older mums down here for the day for a shopping trip, but I suspect petrol prices have had a big impact on this.

As well, he contends that tourist numbers, including day-trippers, have also declined.

Until 2002, Mr Thwaites also owned a Bells Store in Murray Bridge, but this was closed after its profitability declined substantially with the opening of the freeway tunnels linking Murray Bridge to Adelaide. The debts associated with that business then had to be carried by the Victor Harbor store.

Mr Thwaites is hoping a strong retailer will take over the three by five year lease that remains on the premises. Already a number of parties have expressed interest in moving into the prime retail space.

The site itself was home to the town’s first general store from 1865 and in 2006 the Thwaites family became the first business to obtain a heritage grant of $3,000 from the City of Victor Harbor to spruce up and restore the building in heritage colours.

In the meantime, Mr Thwaites says he’s loved the opportunity to learn the real estate industry through his work at Toop & Toop and he intends to throw his energy into this new role.

Despite his frustration and sadness that the Bells business has failed, he says he would still like to remain involved with helping to drive economic development in the town. However, this would only be if the council and fellow Economic Development Committee members felt his contribution was still worthwhile.

“Shattered from every point of view” was the way he described his feelings about the closure.

“It has been a financial disaster for the Thwaites family. We are going to cop some tough times ahead, but that’s the risk you take in business.

“There’s a huge amount of frustration that we’re closing despite a massive effort with the business over the past six years.”

Bells Store has epitomised good corporate citizenship. Not only has Mr Thwaites been involved with numerous local committees, the store has also given many youngsters their first chance to strut the catwalk and has provided sponsorship and fashion parades for a wide range of groups seeking fundraising opportunities.

The philosophy of employing locals has meant many youths have gained their first taste of working life at the store, among them one of South Australia’s earliest botanists, the late Ernest Ising, who gained his first job at the store in the late 1800s-early 1900s.

Other locals among those who have worked at the store have included The Times’ journalist Michael Simmons who gained his first job there at 15 as a window washer.

Bev Rake, a part-owner of Lenard’s Chicken in the Victor Harbor Central Shopping Centre, worked for about seven years in the office about 20 years ago.

SEND US YOUR MEMORIES: We’d love to hear from people who have been associated with the Bells Store over the years. Send us your memories at victortimes@ruralpress.com, blog our website thetimes.yourguide.com.au or post your comments to The Times, PO Box 107, Victor Harbor 5211.