The store announced its impending closure back in February but had not set a date.

Related: Ararat department store announces the end of an era.

The store had about five employees, and manager Lisa Townsend said she was worried about what they would do after the closure.

"I've got a girl who's on the older side and she only works part-time, so it's really hard for her to find even part-time work because everybody wants (to hire) kids," she said.

"So what do you do? You can't get full-time work around here."

Ms Townsend said she has been forced to look for work in Ballarat, and Ararat is going "the same way" as Stawell for lack of retail.

"Unfortunately we don't earn enough to be able to spend and keep shops open," she said.

"We live in a small town and although we have a lot of smaller towns coming to us, all of our people go to bigger towns to shop because they want to know they are going to get exactly what they want.

"Around here it's very hard to get exactly what you want so then you've got online shopping or you go to Ballarat or Melbourne, and in this economy no one has money to spend."

Related: The state of business is shifting in Ararat.

"Even on a Wednesday or Thursday when people generally get paid, you go out there (to Barkly Street) and there are no cars out there," Ms Townsend said.

Dimmeys financial controller Madhu Khadka explained the decision when it was first announced.

"The reasoning behind the decision was retail is getting tougher and tougher every day," he said at the time.

The Hamilton outlet is also closing its doors, leaving just Mildura, and Swan Hill in western Victoria.

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