Enthusiastic shoppers make St Luke’s department store launch a hit
A long queue of enthusiastic shoppers greeted the launch of the new St Luke’s Hospice department store at Sheffield’s Kilner Way Retail Park in Wadsley Bridge.
The store was officially opened by St Luke’s supporter and ambassador Michael King, whose wife Michelle was a St Luke’s patient.
And then it was straight down to business of looking for the best deals as shoppers browsed among a specially-curated selection of pre-loved clothing, furniture and household items.
The new department store is the most ambitious St Luke’s retail project to date, an 8,500 sq ft space offering a wide variety of pre-loved goods for the cost-conscious sustainable shopper.
The site also offers visitors three hours of free parking and is well-served by public transport links.
With an extra 7,000 sq ft of warehouse space to the rear of the store, the new shop will in addition provide a donation hub for items to be dropped off by supporters quickly and conveniently.
“We were both overwhelmed and delighted by the public’s response to our opening day, which exceeded all our expectations,” said St Luke’s Head of Retail Jenny Booth.
“To see so many people supporting us shows that there is a real need for our department store and we look forward to seeing this exciting addition to our retail chain grow.”
The St Luke’s chain of 15 shops taps into a growing national trend that is expected to see the pre-loved market grow by 127 per cent in the next two years.
“Visitors to Kilner Way will never be short on choice as we provide an ever-changing range of stock in all our departments, including contemporary and vintage fashion, occasion wear and weddings, children’s, homewares, furniture, book and records,” said Jenny.
“Shopping pre-loved with St Luke’s Kilner Way is good for the environment, good for your wallet and great for St Luke’s, enabling us to continue our support for around 1,800 patients every year, as well as their families and carers.
“Last year, our charity shops raised almost £3.9m towards our patient care costs – meaning every item donated, gift aided or bought in our shops had a big impact for St Luke’s while at the same time supporting sustainable fashion.
“This year St Luke’s needs to generate £10.5m of the £14m it costs just to carry on doing what we do and our retail operation is a vital part of that fundraising effort.
“As ever, though, a key factor to the success of any St Luke’s shop comes down to the generosity of the Sheffield public, whether giving their time to volunteer or donating high quality pre-loved items that can be resold in our shops.”
People can stay up to date with the launch via @stlukeskilnerway on Instagram and StLukesKilnerWay on Facebook.