Harrods is a luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. The building was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the grounds founded by his father Charles Henry Harrod in 1849, which burned down in 1881. The store spans of selling space, making it the largest department store in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Harrods is one of the most famous department stores worldwide, attracting 15 million visitors annually . Its building was Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List in 1969.
The original holding company, Harrod's Stores Limited, was formed and began trading on the London Stock Exchange in 1889. It was acquired by and merged into the House of Fraser in 1959, which itself was acquired by the Fayed brothers and became a privately held company in 1985. When the House of Fraser was relisted on the stock exchange, the Harrods business was split off to remain privately held in 1994. The present-day legal entity, the Harrods Group, was established by the Fayed brothers in 2006. It was sold to the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, in 2010.
History In 1824, at the age of 25, Charles Henry Harrod established a business at 228 Borough High Street in Southwark. He ran this business, variously listed as a draper, mercer, and a haberdasher, until at least 1831.Rate Books April 1824 to April 1831 held at Local History Library, Borough High Street, Southwark, London.1830 Critchett's Directory, London.1832 Robson's Directory During 1825, the business was listed as 'Harrod and Wicking, Linen Drapers, Retail',Pigot's Directory of 1826–27 but this partnership was dissolved at the end of that year. His first grocery business appears to be as 'Harrod & Co. Grocers' at 163 Upper Whitecross Street, Clerkenwell, E.C.1., in 1832.1832 Robson's Directory
In 1834, in London's East End, he established a wholesale grocery in Stepney at 4 Cable Street with a special interest in tea. Attempting to capitalise on trade during the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park, in 1849 Harrod took over a small shop in the district of Brompton, on the site of the current store. Beginning in a single room employing two assistants and a messenger boy, Harrod's son Charles Digby Harrod built the business into a thriving retail operation selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruits and vegetables. Harrods rapidly expanded, acquired the adjoining buildings, and employed one hundred people by 1881.
In early December 1883, the store was destroyed by a fire. Charles Harrod fulfilled all of his commitments to his customers to make Christmas deliveries that year. In short order, a new building was built on the same site. Harrods later extended credit to selected customers, including Oscar Wilde, Lillie Langtry, Ellen Terry, Charlie Chaplin, Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Sigmund Freud, A. A. Milne, and many members of the British royal family. Beatrix Potter frequented the store from the age of 17. First published in 1902, her children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was soon on sale in Harrods, accompanied by the world's first licensed character, a Peter Rabbit soft toy (Peter and toys of other Potter characters appeared in Harrods catalogues from 1910). In 1921, Milne bought the 18-inch Alpha Farnell teddy bear from the store for his son Christopher Robin Milne who would name it Edward, then Winnie, becoming the basis for Winnie-the-Pooh. In December 1926, Agatha Christie, who visited Harrods as a girl, marvelled at the spectacle of the store's Christmas display. The store has also featured in fiction, for example Mr. Bean (played by Rowan Atkinson) visited Harrods to buy Christmas decorations in the 1992 Mr. Bean episode "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean".
On 16 November 1898, Harrods debuted England's first "moving staircase" (escalator) in their Brompton Road stores; the device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a mahogany and "silver plate-glass" balustrade."The First Moving Staircase in England." The Drapers' Record, 19 November 1898: 465. Nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to revive them after their 'ordeal'.
The store was a founding member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1928 until 1935; its then-president, Frank Chitham, director as early as 1920, was also president of the association in 1930.
Mah-Jongg, a lemur, was sold to Stephen Courtauld and Virginia Courtauld (née Peirano) in 1923. Mah-Jongg lived with the Courtaulds for fifteen years, accompanying the couple on their travels and changes of residence, including Eltham Palace in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In 1969, Christian the lion was bought at Harrods by John Rendall and Anthony 'Ace' Bourke. The lion was set free in Kenya after reaching maturity.
The Disney at Harrods partnership added the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon on 25 November 2013 to the previously operating Disney Cafe and Disney Store.
Architecture
The store occupies a site and has over one million square feet () of selling space in over 330 departments making it the biggest department store in Europe. The UK's second-biggest shop, Selfridges, Oxford Street, is a little over half the size with of selling space. By comparison Europe's second-largest department store the KaDeWe in Berlin has a retail space of .
The figurative sculptures that once adorned the Harrods food hall were consigned for sale at West Middlesex Auction Rooms in 2012. The two Mermaids supporting a giant Clam and the Stag and Boar sheltering under an English Oak are purchased by Greaves & Thomas for inclusion in an elaborate fountain for Ryde, Isle of Wight.
Memorials
Following the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, Mohamed Al-Fayed's son, two memorials to the couple commissioned by Al-Fayed were erected inside Harrods. The first, located at the base of the Egyptian Escalator, was unveiled on 12 April 1998, consisting of photographs of the two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as what is described as an engagement ring Dodi purchased the day before they died.Rick Steves, Getting Up To Snuff In London , /www.ricksteves.com.
The second memorial, unveiled in 2005 and located by the escalator at door three is entitled Innocent Victims, a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross, a bird said to symbolise the "Holy Spirit".Harrods unveils Diana, Dodi statue , CNN.com, 1 September 2005. The sculpture was created by William Mitchell, a close friend of Al-Fayed and artistic design advisor to Harrods for 40 years. Al-Fayed said he wanted to keep the pair's "spirit alive" through the statue.
Products and services The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique, which is Latin for "all things for all people, everywhere". Several of its departments, including the Seasonal Christmas department, jewellery departments and the Food Halls, are well known.
The shop's 330 departments offer a wide range of products and services. Products on offer include clothing for women, men, children and infants, electronics, jewellery, sporting gear, bridal trousseau, pet accessories, toys (including Christmas and signature teddy bears), food and drink, health and beauty items, packaged gifts, stationery, housewares, home appliances, furniture, and much more.
A representative sample of shop services includes 23 restaurants, serving everything from high tea to tapas to pub food to haute cuisine; a personal shopping-assistance programme known as "By Appointment"; a watch repair service; a tailor; a dispensing pharmacy; a beauty spa and salon; a barbers shop; Ella Jade Bathroom Planning and Design Service; private events planning and catering; food delivery; a wine steward; bespoke picnic hampers and gift boxes; bespoke cakes; bespoke fragrance formulations; and Bespoke Arcades machines.
Up to 300,000 customers visit the shop on peak days, comprising the highest proportion of customers from non-English speaking countries of any department store in London. More than five thousand staff from over fifty different countries work at Harrods.
In October 2009, Harrods Bank started selling gold bars and coins that customers could buy "off the shelf". The gold products ranged from to , and could be purchased within Harrods Bank. They also offered storage services, as well as the ability to sell back gold to Harrods in the future.
Harrods used to provide paid "luggage room" services for storing luggage/ items; however, post COVID they stopped providing this service.
Customers Customer dress code In 1989, Harrods introduced a dress code for customers. The store turned away people whose dress is not in compliance with the code. Forbidden items include cycling shorts; high-cut shorts, Bermuda or beach shorts; swimwear; athletic singlets; flip flops or thong sandals; bare feet; bare midriff; or wearing dirty or unkempt clothing. Patrons found not in compliance with the code and barred from entry include pop star Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Luke Goss, a Scout troop, a woman with a Mohican hair cut, and the entire first team from FC Shakhtar Donetsk who were wearing tracksuits.
As of 2023, Harrods takes the following position: "We do not have a specific dress code for entry into the store, including any of our restaurants. However, we do reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone who is not deemed to be appropriately dressed. Sportswear, including trainers, shorts, and tracksuits, are permitted across all areas of the store and restaurants."
Royal warrants Harrods was the holder of royal warrants from: Queen Elizabeth II (Provisions and Household Goods) Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Outfitters) Charles, Prince of Wales (Outfitters and Saddlers) Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (China and Glass)
In August 2010, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed revealed that he had burnt Harrods royal warrants, after taking them down in 2000. Harrods had held the royal warrants since 1910. Describing the warrants as a "curse", Al-Fayed claimed that business had tripled since their removal. Prince Philip removed his warrant in January 2000, and the other warrants were removed from Harrods by Al-Fayed in December, pending their five-yearly review. Prince Philip had been banned from Harrods by Al-Fayed. Film of the burning of the warrants in 2009 was shown in the final scene of Unlawful Killing, a film funded by Al-Fayed and directed by Keith Allen.
Ownership A chance meeting in London with businessman, Edgar Cohen, eventually led to Charles Harrod selling his interest in the store for £120,000 () via a stock market flotation in 1889. The new company was called Harrod's Stores Limited. Sir Alfred James Newton became chairman and Richard Burbidge managing director. Financier William Mendel was appointed to the board in 1891 and he raised funding for many of the business expansion plans. Richard Burbidge was succeeded in 1917 by his son Woodman Burbidge and he in turn by his son Richard in 1935.
The department store was acquired by House of Fraser in 1959, fighting off competition from Debenhams and United Drapery Stores. The business was in turn purchased by the Fayed brothers, Mohamed and Ali, in 1985 for £615 million. In 1994, Harrods was moved out of the House of Fraser Group to remain a private company prior to the group's relisting on the London Stock Exchange. Omar Fayed, Mohamed's youngest son, joined the Harrods board in 2006.