Palmers Department Store
 | |
| Company type | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1837 |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of employees | 400 |
| Website | http://www.palmerstores.com/ |
Palmers Department Store is an independent and family-run department store located in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. The company boasts that it is the 'longest established independent department store in the country'.[1]
History
Palmers can trace its history back to June 1837[2] when Garwood Burton Palmer opened a small linens and drapery shop in Great Yarmouth Market Place.[3] In 1844 his younger brother Nathaniel Palmer joined the business.[4] In 1888, when Garwood Palmer died at the age of 73, the business transferred into the hands of Nathaniel Palmer's sons and the business became known as Palmer Brothers.[5] The shop was the first building in Great Yarmouth to be illuminated by electricity in the town in 1902.[6]
Palmers has survived two major fires and bomb damage. Palmers is still owned and run by descendants of the store’s original founder.[7] The company expanded in the 1990s and 2000s taking on stores in Bury St Edmunds, Dereham and Lowestoft. [8]
In 2012 a blue plaque was placed outside the Conservative Club of Gorleston by the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society, to commemorate the former home of the founder Garwood Burton Palmer.[9]
References
- ^ http://www.palmerstores.com/about-palmers/
- ^ http://www.palmerstores.com/stores/great-yarmouth/
- ^ "[Palmers Great Yarmouth]". 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/founder_of_palmers_department_store_remembered_with_blue_plaque_1_1349437
- ^ http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/founder_of_palmers_department_store_remembered_with_blue_plaque_1_1349437
- ^ "[Palmers Department Store, 1902]". 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "[Great Yarmouth Store Palmers Keeps It In The Family With Online Expansion]". 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "[Norfolk department store boss to take a step back]". 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/founder_of_palmers_department_store_remembered_with_blue_plaque_1_1349437