The only hardware shop in Waalre is closing its doors for good.
After 35 years, the DHZ Van der Linden shop will stop doing business. The last couple of years, the business hasn’t been doing well, so the owner decided to throw in the towel. The business has been through a lot over the years.
But it was the economic crisis ten years ago that did the most damage. Marc van der Linden, the shop’s owner, says, “We should have stopped back then. But we wanted to do everything we could to keep the business going.”
And for years, the family tried everything they could. If Van der Linden had closed the shop a decade ago, he’d have had less stress in recent years. Still, Marc couldn’t make the decision so rashly.
The business is his father’s legacy. When Van der Linden was 21, his father bought the shop. Since then, they have run the business together until Marc took over.
Not an easy decision
The owner still struggling with it every day, but he’s firm in his decision. “It took me four years to decide. I really considered it very carefully.”
“But that doesn’t make it any easier. I think my father would have supported this decision as well”.
Van der Linden is going to miss his regular clients the most. He had good contact with them. They mostly reacted with disappointment.
But the decision is final, and everything in the shop is on sale. Marc wants everything gone by 15 December.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
