Couple who restored Post Office service to Kingsthorpe celebrate first-year anniversary

From plugging the need for banking services to providing a trusted place to send and receive packages, business at the Kingsthorpe Post Office is booming.

The first-class customer service provided by Frédérick Brejouin and Anikó Gondos has ensured a strong and loyal customer base.

The pair will shortly be celebrating their first-year anniversary in April as postmasters and plan to thank customers with flowers and sweet treats.

Prior to opening their Alexandra Terrace branch, the area had been without a Post Office for around a year.

The cash and banking services provided by Frédérick and Anikó’s Post Office were much needed – Kingsthorpe is without local bank branches and has only one building society in the vicinity.

According to the latest figures from Which? 645 bank branches closed last year, with almost 6,000 UK bank branch closures since 2015.

For the local businesses and residents being able to pop in to see Frédérick and Anikó for their banking and mails needs has been a lifeline.

Frédérick said: “More than half our customers come in to see us regularly for banking, postage and mails. The new buy-in-branch service which gives customers the option of using Evri or DPD alongside Royal Mail to send packages has been very popular with local businesses. And people who struggle to get online also come to see us for help with paying their bills or other services. We are always happy to help.”

Sir Michael Ellis, MP for Northampton North, officially opened the branch last year and is thrilled to see it doing so well. He said: “I am delighted that Kingsthorpe Post Office, now entering its second year, is flourishing. The provision of postal services in the area is very important to the local community and Frédérick and Anikó are clearly very popular, running a successful business and providing an excellent amenity in Kingsthorpe.”

Having spent more than half a decade working in senior customer-facing roles for Selfridges and Harrods, Frédérick and Anikó decided to swap the hustle and bustle of London for the calm of Kingsthorpe.

Their years spent in the retail and service industries developed a yearning to run their own small business and prompted them taking an empty shop and refurbishing it from top to bottom to become Kingsthorpe Post Office and a convenience store called Fran’s. The name is a combination of their first names.

The couple have plans in the pipeline to expand their retail offering in the future to incorporate bespoke items from local producers and champion other small businesses in the area.

Anikó said: “Frédérick and I always wanted to run our own business and make a success of it. Running our own Post Office with the convenience store has allowed us to achieve this. We have been made to feel so welcome by the local community and our customers are loyal to us. We know how important it is to make everyone feel welcome when they come into our store. We even have one customer who will travel on the bus to see us once a week.”

Tony Faulkner, Store Manager of Kingsthorpe’s Oxfam branch, said: “Anikó and Frédérick are pillars of the community. Always welcoming and nothing is too much trouble. I consider their Post Office to be my bank; my business bank and vital.”

The important role played by Post Offices in local communities was brought home to Frédérick and Anikó during the Covid pandemic. Witnessing the lifeline postmasters provided their communities and the resilience of Post Offices planted a seed and a realisation for the pair that one day they would like to run their own Post Office.

Frédérick said: “Post Offices are vital for local communities. We can see the difference we have made during our time in Kingsthorpe and we have received so much support and been made to feel very welcome. We are glad we are here and enjoy running our Post Office.”