Norfolk’s department store Jarrold is starting up its website again to “bring a little feel-good spirit in lockdown”.
The local, independent family business closed its store and online business last month because of coronavirus. But it has now decided to re-open the website from Friday to “help people get the items they might be missing delivered to their home”.
The move comes after it reviewed its health and safety procedures to introduce new working practices that ensure the safety of colleagues and customers.
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Chief executive Minnie Moll said: “We know it’s been tough staying at home, so we are opening our website to help our customers make lockdown a little bit easier. Many of us are missing loved ones, so we also wanted to give people the opportunity to send a gift to those they want to reach out to.
“The safety of our colleagues and customers is paramount, so we have given special training to our team in order to follow government guidelines and adhere to strict hygiene and social distancing.
“We don’t have huge warehouses and automated systems, so all items are handpicked by our dedicated team, therefore we may limit the number of orders we can take in a day to ensure the safety of our colleagues and customers. We hope to give all those champions, who are doing their bit and staying at home, a little bit of feel good spirit.
“It will be so good to be able to serve our customers again. We have had lots of enquiries and we know that Jarrold online offers ranges and local products that other online retailers don’t.
“We are also looking ahead to re-opening our stores. Before we closed, our colleagues showed incredible entrepreneurial spirit. For example, our food hall and deii became a corner shop complete with our usual foodie and local ranges, plus Jarrold ready meals, our own fresh baked bread, baked beans and loo roll. We’ll be bringing that same spirit to how we can make our stores safe and welcoming and support our customers as we all adapt to new ways of doing things.”
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jarrold, a store that has been through two world wars and seen off many challenges on the high street.
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