Bunbury business keeping men in the finest high fashion for over a century celebrates its 100th birthday

A Bunbury business keeping men in the finest high fashion for more than a century has celebrated its 100th birthday. Bunbury’s Bon Marche — sitting in the heart of Bunbury — reached the ripe old age of 100 and the family who have run the store is looking for contributions for an exhibition hosted by the Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre. This exhibition will start in October and will feature memorabilia and artefacts collected over three generations of the Bon Marche Mensland selling clothes to the town. The building accommodating Bon Marche was first built in 1891 by William Spencer for Spencer and Sons, general merchants and importers, which was then sold to Louis Craddock in 1925 who kicked off the business. Now, three generations later, Stephen Craddock runs the store along with his wife Maria. “Very few family businesses operate for 100 years and when they do, it’s a time to celebrate,” Mr Craddock said. “We have always realised that people want really good value products of high quality, which is why we have lasted as long as we have.” Mr Craddock is seeking any contributions for the exhibition from previous customers or staff as he would like to display items ranging from old clothes, dockets, or bags. “Anything that has Bon Marche on it,” he said. He said the brand represented the community as people have been buying from the store for a century with history still being written for Bon Marche. “I hope it will go on for another 100 years, but nothing lasts forever,” he said.