Mr Gibb, formerly of Inspiration Paint and Colour on Kiewa Street, has a reputation for sponsoring various sporting teams, charities and men's sheds around the region.

"I hope I'm thought of as being generous with donations and what not," he said.

"It helps the community, I think it's something people should look at more."

Mr Gibb plans to spend his retirement fixing up his house and travelling with his wife, but he said he'll still pop into the store occasionally to check in.

"I don't think we'll ever be able to get rid of him," new owner Geoff Gray said.

Mr Gray has relocated from Melbourne with his family and said Mr Gibb was "an institution" in Albury.

"The thing is, you struggle to go anywhere without running into anyone who knows him," he said.

"I don't think I've had a customer that's come in that hasn't mentioned him.

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"We went for a walk down the street the other day and I think he said 'hi' to every second person, because they just know him."

Mr Gray has more than 15 years of experience in the paint industry and said although there had been a big uptick in business during the pandemic with people spending more time at home and wanting to do their own renovations, taking on the business was still a daunting task.

"It's a big step," he said.

Mr Gray said he was looking forward to enjoying the relaxed lifestyle Albury had to offer with his wife and two children.

"I like to play cricket so we'll be on the lookout for a new club to join," he said.

"We like getting out on the weekends.

"We could go on a different bike ride every weekend for two years and still not do them all."

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