The Mark’s clothing store in Wallaceburg is closing its doors for good later this month.
Staff at the 68 McNaughton Avenue business confirmed with the Sydenham Current that Saturday, January 20 will be the final day the store will be open.
An employee, who we won’t identify, says the staff found out in November that the lease was up and it would not be renewed.
Mark’s, formerly known as Mark’s Work Wearhouse, has been located in Wallaceburg for 10 years.
They currently employ nine people.
Messages left with Mark’s district management have yet to be returned.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor says she was “truly sorry” to hear about the closure.
“I shop there often,” she said.
“It is never good to hear about businesses closing and leaving our town. It’s difficult and leaves fewer options for locals who then will need to travel to larger centre’s. I wish I knew the answer other than increased population and the need to better promote shopping local.”
McGregor said it is a vicious cycle.
“Unless there is a increase in population or local shoppers it is difficult to provide the numbers to hold on to some of the corporate companies that need to make quotas in order to survive. Between living between the two larger centre’s of Chatham and Sarnia, easy access to the United States and the ease of online shopping, it has become increasingly difficult for local retailers.”
Karen Debergh, president of the Wallaceburg and District Chamber of Commerce, told the Sydenham Current whenever a business closes, it impacts everyone in the community.
“I know many people shopped there, especially the men, and when we have limited places to shop for our needs it just sends people out of town,” she said.
“We all need to shop as local as we can.”
Debergh said she would love to have more feedback from companies who decide to close up shop.
“As chair of the board of directors of the Chamber, I wish these places would give us better responses as to why they are closing. So we can work to make the environment better for them to stay open. We can’t fix it if we don’t know the problem.”
Mark’s has stores in both Sarnia and Chatham.
– Photo credit: Dana Haggith
This is very upsetting news. I love the employees and do not get the same feeling at the store in Chatham. A true loss and with all that I just said I do not think that after they close that I will continue to shop at Marks, at any other location.