Family store celebrating 60 years in Sheffield says 'tide's beginning to turn'

Williamson Hardware in Broomhill was launched on October 31, 1959, by Winifred Williamson, at 4 Crookes Road and is today run by her son Andrew, 69, and grandson Mark Williamson, 38, in new premises on Fulwood Road.

Business boomed during the 80s and 90s, with the company even scooping the Trade Journal retailer of the year award in 1986, but like other high street shops it has since been hit by the rise of online sales.

Mark, however, told how it had managed to ‘weather the storm’ while many bigger names went under, and there are now signs of a brighter future on the horizon.

“Online shopping’s definitely had a significant impact but we’’re hoping the tide’s beginning to turn back a bit in our favour,” he said.

“I think people enjoy the shopping experience and they’re starting to realise that buying online’s a bit soulless because you don’t have that interaction you get with shopping locally.

“That’s probably one of the main reasons, along with the convenience and the diversity of the goods we sell, that we’ve managed to weather the storm and keep going.

“With fewer and fewer shops, people are also starting to realise they need to support those that are left before they disappear too.”

Williamson Hardware, which has six members of staff, including the father-and-son co-owners and director Martin Greaves, stocks everything from cooking and cleaning equipment to ironmongery.

It still sells some of the same brands which lined its shelves when it first opened, including Brasso and Stardrops.

Many of its sales are what Mark calls ‘distress purchases’ for urgent DIY jobs like unblocking drains, but the shop has also felt the impact of changing trends.

The rise of the TV chef since the 1990s has fuelled growing demand for cookware, and, more recently, the Great British Bake Off has led to baking equipment selling like proverbial hot cakes.

“We definitely see an increase in sales of baking goods when that’s on. Anything that comes on TV has an impact. It used to be Delia,” said Mark.

After starting on Crookes Road, the business grew rapidly with a second shop opening in Dronfield Woodhouse in 1962 and then a third at 220 Fulwood Road in 1968.

Winifred’s husband Sidney soon quit his job as a lorry driver to help out, and Andrew’s brother Jonathan joined the business in 1963 and ran the shop alongside Andrew for many years before retiring in 2013.

The lease expired on the original shop and the Dronfield outlet was sold, but in 1984 the one on Fulwood Road moved next door into the larger unit at number 222 when the supermarket there closed.

The shop moved back into the smaller unit next door in 2013, following what the Williamsons describe as a ‘drawn out wrangle’ with their landlord, despite more than 100 people objecting to Sainsbury’s taking over the shop’s former premises.

Despite reluctantly having to downsize, Mark said the current premises – formerly occupied by Blackwell’s bookshop – were ‘brighter and more vibrant’ than its old home, which had been in need of major renovation.

“We’re very proud to still be going after all these years. It’s been tough but we’ve relied on our experience and kept giving people what they want at affordable prices to help us hang in there, and hopefully things are now starting to change,” said Mark.

“We've a great customer base round here, who have always supported us, and we’d like to thank them, along with the loyal, hardworking staff we’ve been lucky enough to have over the years, who have always gone above and beyond for us.”