Atkinsons is a family-owned

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

located on The Moor in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The store has been trading for around 150 years and sells a wide range of

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

including

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

, bedding, homewares, curtains, blinds,

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

gifts A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

& fragrance,

beds A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

, domestic appliances footwear, bags, luggage, and

cookshop A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

. Facilities include three distinct eateries and a car park located above the store, accessible via Charter Row. There is also a fitted furniture department, carpet department,

Pavers Shoes Pavers Ltd, also known as Pavers Shoes, is a family-owned footwear business operating in the UK and Ireland. Pavers currently has more than 100 stores, all managed from the head office in York. The company has grown rapidly in recent years and o ...

and Grape Tree Foods concessions. Atkinsons Department Store Sheffield

History

John Atkinson arrived in Sheffield in 1865, and worked as an assistant at the Sheffield drapery

Cole Brothers Cole Brothers was a department store located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Early history The Cole brothers John and Thomas opened a silk mercer and hosier at 4 Fargate, Sheffield in 1847. Their brother Skelton almost immediat ...

until he was 26. In 1872 he opened his own drapery in South Street, now known as The Moor, with the store specialising in hosiery, ribbons and lace. The store started to expand by 1879 purchasing its first neighbouring store, and by 1890 had been transformed from a drapery into a department store. The business was so successful that the original shop units were demolished and replaced by a new building. John Atkinson's sons Harold Thomas Atkinson and John Walter Atkinson eventually took over the running of the business from their father, who died in 1929. During the 1930s Atkinsons' had an in-store zoo, which saw a baby crocodile escape. It was found dead in the lift shaft. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the store was completely destroyed by the Blitz in 1940. The business however improvised setting up its headquarters in St Judes Church in Milton Street, and opening departments across the city including a Kiosk outside the railway station and inside the semi-blitzed Central Cinema. The business lost all its ledgers during the blaze, however 80% of its credit accounts had been repaid within 3 months of the bombing. The business continued to be operated like this until 1960 when a new purpose-built store opened on The Moor. In recent years the store has undergone a number of refurbishments, including new lighting and escalators, new menswear area, and most recently a luxury fragrance and bath body area.

References

{{Authority control Department stores of the United Kingdom Companies based in Sheffield