Clive Tilsley sells beloved Hobart store Fullers Bookshop to young protégé Tim Jarvis

The owner of a Hobart literary institution has closed the book on his time in charge – but he sees a bright future ahead for bricks-and-mortar book stores, despite the rise of online behemoths.

AFTER nearly 40 years running Fullers Bookshop, Clive Tilsley has passed the torch to his young protégé, kicking off a new era for the Hobart store.

Mr Tilsley has sold the business to 34-year-old Tim Jarvis, who has worked at Fullers since 2015.

Mr Tilsley has also sold his Tranmere property and moved with his wife Ros to Angaston in the Barossa Valley.

Their relocation follows a period of immense success for Fullers, which became a cultural institution in Hobart under the stewardship of Mr Tilsley, who bought the century-old shop in 1982 when he was 28.

“I guess I decided about five years ago it was time to get out,” he said.

“It took me probably 18 months to two years to talk Tim into (buying the business).

“But he’s as bright as all get-up. And he is a really good reader and one of the few people I know who, without any education, can understand a balance sheet.”

Clive Tilsley, who bought Fullers Bookshop in 1982, with new owner Tim Jarvis in the store. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Jarvis, who has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Tasmania and is the fifth owner of Fullers, said running a business was not something he had always envisaged for himself.

“It’s one of those things where, aspirationally, I quite liked the idea,” he said. “I’d always liked the idea of running a bookshop.”

Mr Jarvis said he did not want to “mess with the core” of what made the Collins St shop so popular, but noted there were “things that we do that people like that I think we could do more of”.

He said he was hoping Fullers would be able to run more reading discussion groups, and expand its events program.

“I’m very keen to grow and develop that (program) and find more ways, as well, to give a platform to local writers,” Mr Jarvis said.

Clive Tilsey in February 2020 with Margaret Coxall, left, and Jenny Smith, the granddaughters of Bill Fuller, who opened the first Fullers bookstore 100 years earlier. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

While Mr Tilsley might be living in another state now, he still serves as a sounding board for Mr Jarvis, working for Fullers as a consultant.

He said he believed independent bricks-and-mortar book stores would survive into the future despite the rise of e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Booktopia.

“I would like to see Tim be there for 25 years and then pass (the business) on to somebody else,” Mr Tilsley said.

“And I reckon the future is there for that.

“What (the bookselling industry) looks like in 10 years time, I don’t know. And what it looks like in 25 years time, I don’t have the foggiest idea.

“But I still think people will want to go to a shop and select books.”

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