John Latimer, whose family has operated the business in Horsham's CBD since 1928, will hand the keys over to long-time staff member and part-owner Kelly Smithyman.

Ms Smithyman is a familiar face to those who shop at Cooks, having worked for Mr Latimer for 11 years.

She said she was excited to take the reigns of the business, and use the wisdom and business know-how passed down from Mr Latimer during her time there.

"It has only just hit this week, it has come around so quickly. I am definitely excited, a bit nervous, but it is a huge step for myself to be able to take over and keep Cooks going," she said.

READ MORE:

"John has been a good mentor along the way. We also have a very good friendship which has been very important through this whole thing."

Cooks Lingerie and Manchester has been passed down through generations of the Latimer family after Mr Latimer's grandfather first migrated to Horsham from Ballarat to establish the store.

Mr Latimer's involvement in the business began in 1971, and in 1973 he and his parents purchased the business from his three sisters.

Throughout the years, Mr Latimer said the biggest changes were to the structure of Cooks and the way businesses operated in general.

"When I walked in the door here and my father was operating the business there was 20 staff. Dad was employing a tea lady who would come in every morning to get the teas ready and then come in every afternoon," he said.

"When I walked in we had 15 departments, it was a real general store. We had kids wear, ladies wear, menswear, curtains, blinds, and accessories. There were so many departments.

"There was a transition for about 15 years where we took it from a 15 department store to now where we have basically two departments, manchester and bedding, and lingerie and sleepwear."

In 2011, Ms Smithyman began working at Cooks, aged 17-years-old.

She said what began as a part-time job soon grew into a career as Mr Latimer taught her the skills of running a business.

"It was only supposed to be a Christmas job but it turned into full-time work. I finished school and started straight here," she said.

OTHER NEWS:

"Every day is different. You have different clients every day. Learning the bra fitting side was just another step up for me, then I started ordering stock. It just kept growing and I became more and more interested."

Throughout his more than 50 years of working in the business, Mr Latimer said his key mantra was to know his customers.

"I think over 50 years there was so many aspects that have changed. I think the thing is whether it changes through ages or health issues or recessions," he said.

"I think Kelly and I have agreed recently, that if there is a mantra in business it is 'know your customers, know what your customers expect of you and then please that need'.

"We are very service-oriented as well. When people come in here, If they have a query about a product we like to be able to explain why the product might be better for them for another product."

In taking over the business Ms Smithyman looked to continue the customer-oriented focus that had kept the business steady throughout the better part of a century.

"We are now traveling along pretty reasonably. All of our customers have been supporting us and that has been huge," she said.

"Even during COVID we have had our customers asking us if we were okay. It was nice to know that they were still thinking of us and that they have now come back to support us."

Mr Latimer however aims to take a well-deserved break and enjoy his newfound spare time - bar the occasional shift at Cooks when needed.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Wimmera Mail-Times, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling your stories. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.