Bennetts
The shop was first opened in 1947 by Gerald Bennett, Mrs Morter's grandfather. He and his brother Morris launched their electrical business in Fakenham in 1922, and Dereham was their second branch. A small store was opened in Reepham in 2003 but Mr Morter said that too had closed last week.
'We have a lot of loyal customers but we have lost all our smaller trade to the multi-nationals that have opened in town,' he said.
'It is sad and the end of an era but we are trying not to think about it too much. We are probably the last old family business in the town.
'But we are doing this the best way we can, we have not gone bust or gone into liquidation. Nothing lasts forever.'
Town mayor Phillip Duigan said it was 'bad news' for the town and would be missed.
'I remember when they sold records in the 1960s and you could go in and sit in a booth and listen to a record before you bought it,' he said. 'I listened to some of the first Beetles records in there.
'It is a very sad day because everybody brought up in Dereham would know about Bennetts. It is a real blow to the high street.'
'We have a lot of loyal customers but we have lost all our smaller trade to the multi-nationals that have opened in town,' he said.
'It is sad and the end of an era but we are trying not to think about it too much. We are probably the last old family business in the town.
'But we are doing this the best way we can, we have not gone bust or gone into liquidation. Nothing lasts forever.'
Town mayor Phillip Duigan said it was 'bad news' for the town and would be missed.
'I remember when they sold records in the 1960s and you could go in and sit in a booth and listen to a record before you bought it,' he said. 'I listened to some of the first Beetles records in there.
'It is a very sad day because everybody brought up in Dereham would know about Bennetts. It is a real blow to the high street.'
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