Man with a passion for our Love Local message

Fakenham businessman Brett Corder is passionate about spreading the Love Local message.

As the president of the Fakenham and District Chamber of Trade and the owner of a successful independent grocery store in the town, Mr Corder champions the cause of local businesses.

Mr Corder has been running Corder’s Budgens, on Wells Road, Fakenham with his wife Maria for almost four years and the store has won several retail industry awards.

He said: “We’ve just had a new B&Q open in Fakenham and the new Hughes store has brightened up Norwich Street.

“These sort of businesses are good for getting people into Fakenham, but it is really important that people continue to support local retailers as well.

“I believe there is a good mix of independent and national chain stores in Fakenham but it would be good to see a few more empty buildings filled up by local independent retailers.”

Like many businesses in the town, Corder’s Budgens faces the challenge of competing with national supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons.

To rise to this challenge it is taking part in a scheme financially backed by Budgens’ parent company, Musgrave Group, to cut the prices of thousands of products.

As part of this, Corder’s Budgens is aiming to price match Tesco on 300 products includes milk, bread, bananas and Heinz baked beans.

Meanwhile, Mr Corder and his fellow chamber of trade members help local businesses to work together and raise money for local charities.

The chamber is to hold a fireworks evening at Fakenham Racecourse on November 5 and this will raise money for Norfolk charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers, which helps the children of servicemen and women killed in combat, and five other local charities which are still to be confirmed.

Mr Corder said: “I think the different organisations in Fakenham like the chamber of trade, Kick Start Fakenham and Fakenham Parish Church are working together a lot better than they used to, and that is very good for the town.”