2009 has seen the opening of a second store for Brenda’s Schoolwear. The large store in Camberley has a bright fresh spacious interior allowing plenty of space for further expansion and is the perfect accompaniment to their shop in North Camp, Farnborough. However as with all businesses it has only grown through hard work and dedication.

 

Brenda’s humble beginnings were a tiny little shop at Number 1 Somerset Road, Farnborough, opened by Brenda Wyatt when she left school aged 15. Although Brenda’s trade was in dressmaking the shop was always connected with uniform and sold the clothing for the Scout and Guide movements as well as wool and haberdashery.

In 1968 the grocer shop next to the family home closed down and it was decided to buy the premises and move the shop to Peabody Road where it stayed for 40 years.

In 1969 the local Department store, Dacombes, closed down and asked Brenda if she would take on the box of school ties they held for St Mark’s. From that moment on the school uniform trade took off. Customers would come to buy their tie and would want a shirt to go with it and so shirts were bought in, then trousers were asked for and so it went on.

The shop grew and grew with extension after extension and by 2008 it was bursting at the seams. After a three year search for a property the business was moved once more to its present Farnborough location in Alexandra Road.

Brenda’s now supplies more than sixty schools with their uniform, hence the need for the second store. Although the shops are now run by her daughter Jan and grandson Steve, Brenda can still be found behind the counter on many occasions and is now celebrating 60 years of trading.

STOP PRESS!

From 2nd January 2014 we will be merging our Farnborough store into our much larger and more spacious Camberley store. After sixty four years in Farnborough we will be closing our Farnborough store on the 21st December 2013. We will not be selling knitting yarns and haberdashery any longer but wish to thank our many customers over the years for their loyalty. Here's to the future!