British bakery chain shuts ALL its stores after being run by same family for 7 decades as ‘no one wants to take it over'
The family-run business has announced the closure after failing to find someone to "take it over".
1
Bennetts Family Bakers closed all of its branches for good on Saturday.
Bennetts has built a strong local following thanks to its freshly baked bread, pastries, and traditional cakes.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
The bakery chain opened in 1951 and has been operated by three generations of the same family.
But Mrs Margaret Bennet and her son David explained that there was no one to continue the legacy.
David, the company's director, previously told the Daily Echo he was struggling to run the business while caring for his elderly mother, who is seriously ill.
He said: 'We've had an incredibly loyal customer base, and I'm truly thankful for the support we've had over the years.'
David, who is over the retirement age, also has to deal with personal health issues.
The family told Bournemouth Echo: "Our family-owned business had no choice Mrs Margaret Bennett is now in a home, and her son, David Bennett is over retirement age and has his own health problems, with no-one wanting to take over, or it being viable to keep going.
"It has been run by three generations of the family, opening in 1951."
The statement continued: "A big thank you to all our loyal staff and customers."
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ALL BRANCHES CLOSED NOW
The bakery's locations in Winton, Southbourne and Parkstone bid goodbye to the customers for the final time on July 5.
The closure follows the earlier loss of their Westbourne, Broadstone and Wimborne branches in June.
A heartfelt note taped to the Broadstone shop window explained the difficult decision.
'It is with great sadness that this shop will be closing on the 14th of June,' it read.
'It has been a pleasure serving the Broadstone community over the years.
'This has come about because of staff shortages and illness in the family.
'I would like to thank everybody for their support.'
COMMUNITY REACTION
Many in the community were saddened to hear the news.
One regular customer said: 'It's such a shame. You could always count on Bennetts for quality and friendly service. They'll be missed.'
Another added: 'It's a real blow for the high street.
"There aren't many proper family bakeries left these days.'
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
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