ONE of Swan Hill’s most well-known and renowned businesses is closing its doors for the final time, with Tom Wilkins Menswear shutting up shop after 40 years.
Mr Wilkins’ shop has been a staple in the Swan Hill clothing industry, with plenty of changes passing through his 55-year experience, however he said many trends tend to cycle around a few times.
“There has been a lot of change, but also most trends run in a cycle, whether it is 10 or 20 years, trends will usually come around again in the near future,” he said.
One of the biggest changes he noted was the price of a suit, with the price coming down a fair bit from when he first entered business, with customers now being able to pick up four or five suits for what you would pay for one.
The most important part of any small local business was the support that they received from the community, with Mr Wilkins thanking everyone who had supported them during the past four decades.
“We have received tremendous support over the years,” he said.
“We truly are thankful of the support that we have received over the years from the Swan Hill community … it has been fantastic.”
Over the years, Mr Wilkins has been extremely well-supported with events like the Swan Hill racing carnival bringing in a increase of trade, with years of young Swan Hill locals also purchasing their first suit for their school formal from the iconic store.
However, with a lack of events over the past two years, he admitted that business had been tough since the pandemic began with online shopping now becoming the way most people were buying their clothes.
“The last few years have been tough, people aren’t able to go out, so there is no need for them to buy clothes for these events he said, no weddings and race meetings have definitely impacted us,” he said.
Having a reputation for stocking quality brands was one of the reasons Mr Wilkins had been in business for so long.
Running the business over the years primarily just between he and wife Marita, they have had to make a lot of sacrifices over the years, but have prided themselves on service which was hard to find these days.
While his own retail career was ending, Mr Wilkins hoped that as we came out of the pandemic more people would be willing to give things a crack.
“I believe things are picking up,” he said.
“I think people are more willing to have a crack and make a go of things, the last couple of years have made people reconsider what they want to do, and have a change of direction.”
Tom Wilkins Menswear will close their doors for the final time tomorrow at 1pm, with it marking an end of an era for the couple who were looking forward to their retirement.
They plan to stay in Swan Hill.
