The full-time whistle has blown, it’s goodbye to Shepparton’s Intersport

By Nicola Ceccato

May 21, 2025

Intersport owner Gary Harvey knows it’s time to say goodbye, but it’s not for the reason many people might think. Photo by Megan Fisher

Intersport is set to close its doors for the final time, and while it might come as a shock to some in the community, for owner Gary Harvey, it’s been a long time coming.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

“People will make their own assumptions about why we’re shutting, but it’s nothing sinister,” Mr Harvey said.

“It’s just that we had a plan, and we want to stick to it ... once we got up towards that 10-year mark we (would) finish up because in the end, we’ll have to sign another five-year deal, and then I’ll be at the point where I’ll be too old to even want to do things.

“My daughter’s just moved to Melbourne for uni so we want to try and get down there a bit more if we can and I’m from Melbourne, too, so I sort of want to get back there in a couple of years.”

Despite this being the main reason for closing the store, Mr Harvey said the job hadn’t come without its challenges.

“Retail in Shepparton has been pretty hard the past five years like, I bought a business 10 years ago, and who would have invented COVID?” he said.

“And then a reconstruction of the mall, and then the floods, so it's been pretty tough, and I don’t know what’s next.

“So there’s a bit of fear of what’s around the corner. Those sort of things weigh on your mind a bit as well.”

But it hasn’t been all doom and gloom.

Since Mr Harvey bought the Intersport shop close to 10 years ago, back when it was called Sportsco, the business has undergone a lot of change.

Five years ago, the business moved from High St to a bigger space on Fraser St. Mr Harvey said there had been an increase in suppliers, and thanks to COVID, he moved to incorporate an online shop into his business model.

Intersport has seen a lot of change in the past 10 years. Photo by Megan Fisher

Mr Harvey has decided he won’t try to find a buyer for the business.

“We can try and sell it, but there’s a lot of red tape when selling. So, we just thought we’ll do a run-out sale and see where it takes us,” he said.

Mr Harvey said he had loved running the business and being a part of the Shepparton community, and thanked everyone for their support over the years.

“It’s been a great 10 years, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.

“I still like getting up in the morning and going to work, which is unusual as most jobs, you sort of get out and go, here we go again, but yeah, no, I love it.”

The store closing date is yet to be determined but meanwhile, there is a huge clear-out sale.

“We don’t really know the official date, it could be June 30, depending on how much stock we’ve moved, but yeah, we’ll just keep going until we’re down to enough where we can say that’s enough,” he said.

“It’ll be sad, yeah, but anyway, life moves on, doesn’t it?”