The work wasn’t new, but the scenery was.
Brian had been with the company since he was a teenager fresh out of school and the couple had run their own Dimmey’s stores in other places, including Albury and Colac.
But the Goulburn Valley stole their hearts and they planted roots here.
“Coming to Shepp has been the best thing,” Brian said.
“It’s great for kids; it’s been a great place to raise a family.”
Now that their children are all grown up — their youngest just graduated secondary school — they’re taking some time off from their demanding retail operations roles.
On Christmas Eve, they will hand the keys back to the parent company and when the store reopens after Christmas, there will be new faces behind the counter.
And, likely a different selection of goods that reflects Dimmey’s regular offerings, sans the Shepparton store’s famous discount rugs.
“We’ve had a really good time here, we’ve been happy,” Brian said.
“But you can’t be in two places at once.”
Next year, with their newfound freedom, Brian and Sharon plan to be in several places around the world.
They still plan on calling Shepparton home for the foreseeable future, with adult kids now working locally and able to hold the fort while they spread their wings, but will take a year off before deciding their next venture.
During their break, they will spend a month in Sharon’s birth country, Taiwan, before touring Europe, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand and anywhere else that piques their interest along the way.
While they agreed it was an exciting year to look forward to, leaving their post at the shop would not come without sadness.
“We’ve made many good friendships in Shepparton,” Brian said.
“We visit many people in aged care facilities; we watched many of our customers grow old.”
While plenty of things changed and challenged them, from a devastating electrical fire that ravaged the shop and damaged more than a half a million dollars of stock in 2005, to the changing face of retail in the CBD, there were others that stayed the same.
“See those drinks in that fridge,” Brian pointed to a cold cupboard of soft drink cans near the counter.
“They’ve been $1 for 25 years. Cards have always been 59 cents.
“We did it our way and we tried to always have the best prices we could.”
The $4.20 backpacks, $2 Bonds-brand underwear and $39 rugs hanging all around them paid testament to that pledge.
“We just want to thank all our customers for their trust and loyalty,” Brian said.
To clear out all their stock before Christmas Eve, after which the new operators will fill the shop with their range, the Baxters are having their first ‘percentage off’ sale in their quarter-of-a-century history, with 30 per cent off everything across the store.
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