Historic Sheffield department store Atkinsons sends message to customers after closing its doors

One of Sheffield’s oldest and most famous stores has praised the generosity of customers after it was forced to close due to coronavirus.
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Atkinsons department store, on The Moor, in Sheffield city centre, announced on Monday that it was closing temporarily to protect the health and safety of its customers and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Managing director Nicholas Atkinson told how he had been overwhelmed by a display of public generosity not seen by the business since the Second World War.

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When the shop was flattened during the Sheffield Blitz of 1940, customers rallied round and paid their bills to ensure the firm’s future, and Mr Atkinson told how something similar had happened 80 years later.

Nicholas Atkinson, managing director of Atkinsons department store in Sheffield (pic: Atkinsons)Nicholas Atkinson, managing director of Atkinsons department store in Sheffield (pic: Atkinsons)
Nicholas Atkinson, managing director of Atkinsons department store in Sheffield (pic: Atkinsons)

“Since we closed on Monday, we have been inundated by customers wanting to know how they pay their accounts as they don’t want to cause Atkinsons any hardship,” he said.

“I think the comparison says a lot about Sheffield people and how caring they are. For me, as the fourth generation of the business, that is particularly touching and I would like to thank everyone for their continued support and loyalty which of lot of retail businesses don’t have these days.”

He also praised the hard work by all the ‘fantastic’ staff at the independent family-run store to prepare the building so it is ready to reopen once it gets the all-clear.

“We are starting to hear more positive things from the parts of the world that have experienced coronavirus before us and let’s hope we can all return to normal before too long,” he added.

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