King’s Lynn pet shop owner sad as store closes its doors

A pet store owner has spoken out about his concerns for the future of retail in Lynn after announcing the closure of his Gaywood store.

Nicholas Kulkani, 54, took over the running of Teresa’s Pet Necessities from his sister, Teresa, following her death from ovarian cancer in 2011.

He said: “I’ve watched Lynn have the heart and soul ripped out of it, the future of retail is very depressing and small, independent stores are under threat.”

Nicholas’ comments come following a difficult period for the high street with several chains such as New Look and Prezzos closing branches. In Lynn, the High Street has been hit by the imminent closure of Thorntons.

Set to close on Saturday, Teresa’s Pet Necessities has customers who have stayed loyal for 30 years, buying from Teresa when she worked at Anne Kennedy’s Pet Store, and then when she set up her own business in 2004.

Nicholas said: “She loved her animals, and she loved her customers. She said to me before she died that I must never treat them as customers or she would come back and haunt me, because they were her friends.

“And they were, she would even run deliveries for the elderly in the evening if they couldn’t get to the store to pick up their bird seed.”

Teresa died in 2011, aged 46, and the family made the decision to keep the store going in her name. Nicholas’ wife, Anna, took over day-to-day running.

Nicholas said: “When she died, we realised she was part of the community and we didn’t want to let people down, and people have been so loyal over the years.

“It was like a family really, she really did consider anyone who walked through that door a friend and the great shame is that the world is losing the small stores and that sense of community. It’s a social hub and for a lot of people it is a big part of their day.”

The family have decided to close the store after feeling the hit from online shoppers and after Mr Kulkani lost a client for his computer business, which was previously based just down the road.

He plans to continue the computer business by taking it mobile.

He said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years, we’ve made the really hard decision to close. We could have stuggled on for a while but we felt that wouldn’t be the right thing to do.”