West Yorkshire Police was called to the Cash Converters shop in the Avenue Retail Park, on Weaverthorpe Road, off Tong Street at 4.58pm on Monday.
Two men wearing balaclavas and armed with a machete and a sledgehammer were targeting the premises, according to a spokesperson for the force.
The spokesperson said: “They threatened staff and smashed display cabinets before stealing items of jewellery along with a till containing cash.”
They added that staff were “left badly shaken”, but no-one was injured.
Councillor Celia Hickson (Green, Tong) said: “This is a very shocking act of criminality in a well-used and appreciated local store in a busy retail park.
“This type of awful event affects the whole community, but particularly the Cash Converter staff, who will have been traumatised by this appalling incident.
“Anyone who was in the area yesterday evening who may have any information should contact West Yorkshire Police on 101.”
The Cash Converters store in the Avenue Retail Park, in Weaverthorpe Road, off Tong Street the morning after an armed robbery (Image: Telegraph & Argus)
The men ran off towards Tong Street and armed officers were deployed to search the area.
But the suspects were not found and no arrests had been made as of 5pm on Tuesday evening.
A police cordon was put in place outside the store entrance with a force car and Crime Scene Investigation van spotted parked up outside last night.
A number of officers were seen examining the scene inside, including two who looked to be focusing their attention on one of the glass display cabinets in the shop, which contained watches.
Both were wearing blue gloves, while one of them looked to be taking photos of the cabinet and its contents with a camera.
The Cash Converters store is part of a retail park that contains shops including, Poundstretcher, Pet City, Starbucks and Iceland and Wynsors on either side of it.
The store’s opening hours are 9.30am until 5pm all week, except on Sundays, and so it was just about to close before the armed robbery took place.
Detectives from Bradford District CID are continuing to carry out enquiries into the robbery and West Yorkshire Police launched an appeal for information on Tuesday morning.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information that could assist the investigation should contact detectives via 101, or using the contact options on the West Yorkshire Police website.
You should quote crime reference: 13260007741.
You can also report anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers online, or on: 0800 555 111.