AFTER fifteen years of operation Ballarat\u2019s Clark Rubber store is gearing up to close its doors.<\/p>\n
Deciding against renewing his franchise agreement, current owner Steve Pope said it\u2019s an end of an era for Clark Rubber Ballarat as we know it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to sell and we have a few prospective buyers at the moment, but if they don\u2019t go ahead, we\u2019ll be closing the doors at the end of September,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was to re-sign, I would have to for a minimum of five years but I think I\u2019m ready to let it go.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really is an end of an era for our family.\u201d<\/p>\n
After initially opening a Clark Rubber store in Geelong 16 years ago, Mr Pope and his family extended the franchise to commence trade from a Ballarat location in 2005.<\/p>\n
Selling the Geelong store in 2016, he said both businesses, especially the Ballarat location, underwent a great deal of development over the decade and a half he managed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time, the business has changed a lot, it just grew every year and we just went along with it, did what had to be done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big change was converting to online and we have a lot of commercial customers now whereas we didn\u2019t have any when we first started.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven this year with COVID, April was pretty bad, but since then, every month it\u2019s gotten better and for August we even had a 23 per cent increase from other years.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he is personally ready to say goodbye to the business, Mr Pope said he hopes another proprietor will want to take it up and continue the Clark legacy here in Ballarat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clientele that we have through our pools and our commercial work, there\u2019s a lot that a new owner would end up with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love someone to continue it, I do hope someone does because I think it would be a shame for Clark Rubber not to be in Ballarat.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER fifteen years of operation Ballarat\u2019s Clark Rubber store is gearing up to close its doors. Deciding against renewing his franchise agreement, current owner Steve Pope said it\u2019s an end of an era for Clark Rubber Ballarat as we know it. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to sell and we have a few prospective buyers at the moment, […]<\/p>\n