AFTER 63 years of trading, Mount Gambier’s iconic DJ Interiors will soon close its doors.
Originally opened in 1955 by Donald James Bigham and Family, Peter and Isobel Buck purchased the business in 1968 and it has stayed in the family ever since.
Spencer Buck purchased the business from his parents in 1985 with lofty ambitions of a bigger and better store.
DJ Interiors changed locations a total of five times before settling in the current building on Commercial Street West.
Over his 50 years involved and 33 years as proprietor, Mr Buck has some very fond memories of his time with DJs and although it has been a big part of his life, it is time to move on.
“I met my wife Sharon, had three beautiful children and met so many people in our community while owning DJs,” he said.
“My whole life has been building this business for our community, so although we are sad that it is ending, we are grateful for the community support.
“We are now looking forward to the future and with our three children all living in different states, this will give us opportunity to visit them more often and take some time for ourselves.”
The Bucks said the staff at DJs had become a family to them and plan to support them wherever they go.
“The average time a staff member will stay with us is around nine years,” Mr Buck said.
“We have even had some stay with us for over 20, so you really become as close to them as your own.”
Mr Buck said family is “number one” in their life and he would always make it a priority whenever he could.
“We are a family and community orientated business,” he said.
“I never missed any of my children’s sporting events and I made sure that none of my staff missed theirs either.
“There are so many things in life that you should not have to miss out on, being a business owner you have to remember that your staff should not have to either.”
Mr Buck said investing in community was one of the philosophies he lived by throughout his career.
“Giving back to our community is one of the most important things you could do,” he said.
“If local businesses do not invest in sporting clubs then they will not be able to function and without the advertising we get through them we would be losing too.”
Mr Buck said the amount of shops closing on the Commercial Street strip due to lack of support was disappointing.
“We hate to see places close down with nothing put back in their place,” he said.
“There have always been lulls in business throughout time, but the community needs to rally behind shop owners and support the local families before considering buying products online.
“More often than not a shop owner would rather keep their customer than lose them so are happy to negotiate when they can.”
Although the Bucks will move on from DJ Interiors, they hope that someone new will take over the business.
“Our vision is for a young couple to move in to our store,” Mr Buck said.
“Even if they are not selling gifts and homewares, we would still like the building to continue trading.”
The Bucks thanked the community for all of the support over the years and said they hoped to continue to see everyone they knew through the business around the area.
