80-year-old retail veteran yet to face a dull day after 64 years in the industry

Jake Kenny Reporter from Community News

Happy Tuesday neighbours,

When 80-year-old Barry Souter landed his first job in a clothing store 64 years ago, the retail industry looked a lot different.

Customers were not able to browse the shelves but had to ask for clothes to be brought out from behind the counter. When a sale was made, Souter had to handwrite the sale docket. And stock-taking was very much a manual task.

But through all the changes, Souter has never stopped having fun. “It’s the people that make it. Human interaction is what keeps us all going.”

Souter’s first job was at Hallensteins in Dunedin when he was 16, and he worked for Munns in Christchurch for a long time before opening his own business in Bishopdale nearly a decade ago.

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