Harrods Limited is a

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

located on

Brompton Road Brompton Road is a street located in the southern part from Knightsbridge and in the eastern part from Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and partly the City of Westminster in London. It starts from Knightsbridge Und ...

Knightsbridge, London Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, England. It is currently owned by the state of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

via its

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such ...

, the

Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ar, جهاز قطر للإستثمار) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In 2021 ...

. The Harrods

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies, including

Harrods Estates Harrods Estates is a London-based estate agent which offer services for buying, renting and managing property. Harrods Estates was started in 1897 and has expanded gradually since then. In 2005 a second office was opened in Mayfair then in 2013 a ...

Harrods Aviation Harrods Aviation Limited (formerly known as Metro Business Aviation Ltd) is a fixed-base operator and maintenance, repair, and operations service provider for business and corporate aviation in the United Kingdom with bases at London Luton Airport ...

and

Air Harrods Air Harrods Limited is the aircraft charter brokering arm of the Harrods company based at London Stansted Airport. Customers vary immensely; news footage has shown Tony Blair travelling to the G8 summit on board an Air Harrods helicopter whi ...

. The store occupies a site and has 330 departments covering of retail space. It is one of the largest and most famous department stores in the world. The Harrods motto is ''Omnia Omnibus Ubique'', which is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "all things for all people, everywhere". Several of its departments, including the Seasonal Christmas department and the Food Halls, are well known. Harrods was also a founder of the

International Association of Department Stores The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to the ...

in 1928, which is still active today, and remained a member until 1935. Franck Chitham, Harrods' president at the time, was president of the Association in 1930.

History

In 1824, at the age of 25,

Charles Henry Harrod Charles Henry Harrod (16 April 1799, Lexden, Colchester – 31 March 1885, Chiswick Urban District)N. Hansen, ‘Harrod, Charles Henry (1799–1885)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 11 Aug 2014/r ...

established a business at 228 Borough High Street in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. He ran this business, variously listed as a draper, mercer, and a haberdasher, until at least 1831. During 1825, the business was listed as 'Harrod and Wicking, Linen Drapers, Retail', 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 Whitecross Street is a short street in Islington, in Inner London. It features an eponymous street market and a large housing estate. Since 2010, there has been an annual Whitecross Street Party one weekend in the summer, together with an exhi ...

, Clerkenwell, E.C.1., in 1832. In 1834, in London's

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, he established a wholesale grocery in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

at 4 Cable Street with a special interest in tea. In 1849, to escape the vice of the inner city and to capitalise on trade to

the Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

of 1851 in nearby

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

, 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 Charles Digby Harrod (25 January 1841 – 15 August 1905)N. Hansen, ‘Harrod, Charles Digby (1841–1905)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 11 Aug 2014/ref> was an English businessman who expanded ...

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. However, the store's booming fortunes were reversed in early December 1883, when it burnt to the ground. Remarkably, Charles Harrod fulfilled all of his commitments to his customers to make Christmas deliveries that year—and made a record profit in the process. In short order, a new building was built on the same site, and soon Harrods extended credit for the first time to its best customers, among them

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isl ...

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...

, and many members of the British Royal Family. In 1921, Milne bought the 18-inch Alpha Farnell teddy bear from the store for his son

Christopher Robin Milne Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920 – 20 April 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories a ...

who would name it Edward, then Winnie, becoming the basis for

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

. 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 Sir Alfred James Newton, 1st Baronet (18 November 1845 – 20 June 1921) was a British businessman. He was involved with the stock market flotation of several large privately owned retail stores, including Harrods in 1889 and D H Evans in 1894. H ...

became chairman and

Richard Burbidge Sir Richard Burbidge, 1st Baronet (2 March 1847 – 31 May 1917) was an England, English merchant. Biography He was born in Wiltshire, educated at Devizes and Melksham, and at the age of 13 was apprenticed to a provision merchant in Oxford Street ...

managing director. Financier

William Mendel William Mendel (1854-1917) was a financier who with his partners arranged funding for several businesses in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th century. These included Harrods, Dickins & Jones, and D H Evans. Some of their money making a ...

was appointed to the board in 1891 and he raised funding for many of the business expansion plans. Richard Burbidge was succeed in 1917 by his son

Woodman Burbidge Woodman, Woodmen or Woodmans may refer to: Places * Woodman (town), Wisconsin, U.S. ** Woodman, Wisconsin, U.S. * Woodmans, Washington, U.S. * Woodman Point, Western Australia * Woodman station, in Los Angeles, U.S. * The Woodman, a public hous ...

and he in turn by his son Richard in 1935. On 16 November 1898, Harrods debuted England's first "moving staircase" (

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...

) in their Brompton Road stores; the device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a mahogany and "silver plate-glass" balustrade. Nervous customers were offered

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

at the top to revive them after their 'ordeal'. The department store was acquired by

House of Fraser House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...

in 1959, which in turn was purchased by the Fayed brothers in 1985. 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 London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

Qatar Holdings ownership

Following denial that it was for sale, Harrods was sold to

Qatar Holdings The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ar, جهاز قطر للإستثمار) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In 2021 ...

, the

of the State of

in May 2010. A fortnight previously, chairman of Harrods since 1985,

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

, had stated that "People approach us from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Fair enough. But I put two fingers up to them. It is not for sale. This is not

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

. It is a special place that gives people pleasure. There is only one Mecca." The sale was concluded in the early hours of 8 May, when Qatari Prime Minister

Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Mohammed bin Thani Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن جاسم بن جبر آل ثاني; born 1959), also known informally by his initials HBJ, is a Qatari politician. He was the Prime Minister of Qatar from 3 April ...

came to London to finalise the deal, saying that the acquisition of Harrods would add "much value" to the investment portfolio of Qatar Holdings while his deputy, Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla, called it a "landmark transaction". A spokesman for Mohamed Al-Fayed said "in reaching the decision to retire,

ayed Ayed ( ar, عايد or عايض) is an Arabic surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Anouar Ayed (born 1978), Tunisian handball player * Hamdi Ayed (born 1993), Qatari handball player * Lotfi Ayed (born 1959), Swedish boxer * Makrem A ...

wished to ensure that the legacy and traditions that he has built up in Harrods would be continued." Al-Fayed later revealed in an interview that he decided to sell Harrods following the difficulty in getting his

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...

approved by the trustee of the Harrods pension fund. Al-Fayed said "I'm here every day, I can't take my profit because I have to take a permission of those bloody idiots. I say is this right? Is this logic? Somebody like me? I run a business and I need to take the trustee's permission to take my profit." Al-Fayed was appointed honorary chairman of Harrods, a position he held for six months. With the previously operating Disney Cafe and Disney Store, the Disney at Harrods partnership added the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon on 25 November 2013 to those stores.

Significant event timeline

*1824: Charles Henry Harrod starts his first business as a draper, at 228, Borough High Street, Southwark, London. *1834: Charles Henry Harrod (1799–1885) founds a wholesale grocery in Stepney, East London *1849: Harrods moves to the

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

area of London, near

*1861: Harrods undergoes a transformation when it was taken over by Harrod's son, Charles Digby Harrod (1841–1905) *1883: On 6 December, fire guts the shop buildings, giving the family the opportunity to rebuild on a grander scale *1889: Charles Digby Harrod retires, and Harrods shares are floated on the

under the name ''Harrod's Stores Limited'' *1905: Begun in 1894, the present building is completed to the design of architect Charles William Stephens. *1914: Harrods opened its first and only foreign branch in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina. It became independent of the British shop in the late 1940s, but continued to trade under the Harrods name, for many years the only Harrods outside Britain. *1914: Harrods buys the

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

department store

Dickins & Jones Dickins & Jones was a high-quality department store in London, England, which traded between 1835 and 2007, although tracing its origins to 1790. From 1835, the main store was in London's Regent Street. In its final years the store had branches a ...

. *1914:

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be taken into ...

built in Barnes, near

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

. *1919: Harrods buys the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

department store, Kendals; it took on the Harrods name for a short time in the 1920s, but the name was changed back to Kendals following protests from staff and customers. *1920: Harrods buys

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

department store Swan & Edgar and

retailer Walter Carter Ltd. *1923:

Mah-Jongg (lemur) Mah-Jongg or Jongy was a ring-tailed lemur owned by Virginia and Stephen Courtauld, wealthy English philanthropists from Courtaulds, a family of industrialists. Jongy was purchased at Harrods, one of London's most upmarket department stores, in 192 ...

was sold to

Stephen Courtauld Sir Stephen Lewis Courtauld (27 February 1883 – 9 October 1967) was an English philanthropist associated with geographical exploration, the restoration of Eltham Palace in south-east London, and cultural and education causes, both in the UK a ...

and Virginia Courtauld (née Peirano). Mah-Jongg lived with the Courtaulds for fifteen years, accompanying the couple on their travels and changes of residence, including

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s. ...

in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. *1928: Harrods buys

department store

D H Evans D H Evans was a department store located in Oxford Street, London, which later became part of House of Fraser. The store was rebranded as House of Fraser in 2001. History D H Evans was opened in 1879 by Dan Harries Evans at 320 Oxford Street. ...

. *1946: Harrods buys the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

department store John Walsh. *1949: Harrods buys William Henderson & Co, a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

department store. *1955: Harrods buys

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

department store

Rackhams Rackhams was a British department store that opened in Birmingham, England in 1881. The business became part of the Harrods group in 1955, before Harrods was purchased by House of Fraser in 1959. As part of the Harrods grouping in House of Frase ...

. *1959: The British department store holding company

buys Harrods, fighting off competition from

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

and

United Drapery Stores United Drapery Stores, or UDS, was a British retail group that dominated the British high street from the 1950s to the early 1980s. Early history In 1925, Charterhouse Bank set up Charterhouse Investment Trust. The trust started buying up dep ...

. *1969:

Christian the lion Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

was bought at Harrods by John Rendall and Anthony 'Ace' Bourke. The

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

was set free in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

after reaching maturity. *1983: A

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

outside the Brompton store kills six people. *1985: The Fayed brothers buy House of Fraser, including Harrods Store, for . *1986: The small town of Otorohanga in New Zealand briefly changes its name to Harrodsville in response to legal threats made by Mohamed Al-Fayed against a person with the surname of Harrod, who had used the name "Harrod's" for his shop. *1990: A Harrods shop opens on board the RMS ''Queen Mary'' in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, California, which was then owned by the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. Harrods gives right to Duty Free International for a licence to operate a Harrods Signature Shop at

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

's Terminal 3 (closed shortly after) *1993: An IRA

injures four people. *1994: The relationship between House of Fraser and Harrods is severed. Harrods remains under the ownership of the Fayed family, and House of Fraser is floated on the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

. *1997: An English court issued an injunction to restrain the Buenos Aires Harrods store from trading under the Harrods name, but the House of Lords in 1998 dismissed Fayed's lawsuit. *1998: The store on Buenos Aires closed after racking up large amounts of debt, there had been offers to buy the store from

Falabella The Falabella is an Argentine list of horse breeds, breed of small horse. It is among the smallest of horse breeds, with a height at the withers in the range .. History The ancestral stock of the horse of South America descended from horses bro ...

El Corte Inglés El Corte Inglés S.A. (), headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks third worldwide. Its primary source of sales is from department stores, followed by internet sales. It is a family business, with most s ...

Printemps Printemps (; meaning "spring (season), springtime" in French language, French) is a French department store chain (french: grand magasin, links=no, literally "big store"). The Printemps stores focus on beauty, lifestyle, fashion, accessories ...

and more but Atilio Gilbertoni the owner of Harrods in Buenos Aires did not accept the offers as he wanted to keep the controlling stake in the brand *2000: A Harrods shop opens on board the ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

'', owned by the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

. *2006: The Harrods "102" shop opens opposite the main shop in Brompton Road; it features concessions like

Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans ch ...

and

Yo! Sushi YO! Sushi is a company that owns, operates, and franchises conveyor belt sushi restaurants, principally in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Australia. History YO! ...

, as well as florists, a herbalist, a masseur, and an oxygen spa. The store closed in 2013. *2006: Omar Fayed, Mohamed's youngest son, joins the Harrods board. *2010: Fayed announces he has sold Harrods to the

(QIA). It has been reported that the QIA paid for the Knightsbridge store, in a deal signed in the early hours of 8 May 2010. *2010: Harrods looked at the possibility of expanding to China and opening a new shop in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, said, "There are other areas of the world where we could operate profitably." The number of Chinese shoppers visiting Harrods was increasing, and the average spent by a Chinese shopper was three times that of any other nationality. *2012: The figurative sculptures that once adorned the Harrods food hall are consigned for sale at West Middlesex Auction Rooms. 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. *2017: Harrods Bank is sold to

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

and rebranded to Tandem Bank, Harrods Bank operated since 1893 *2020: after lockdowns and restriction during the

covid pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifi ...

, Harrods made a loss of £68 million in 2020, reduced staff numbers, paid no dividend to its owners and said that no dividend was likely for another two years, and faced a strike by dozens of restaurant workers.

Products and services

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 Trousseau may refer to: *A dowry *The wardrobe of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing *A hope chest, glory box or its contents *Trousseau (grape), a wine grape also known as Bastardo ** Trousseau Gris, a white mutation of the ...

, pet accessories, toys (including

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

and signature teddy bears), food and drink, health and beauty items, packaged gifts, stationery, housewares, home appliances, furniture, and much more. Harrods gents IMG 0905

A representative sample of shop services includes 23 restaurants, serving everything from

high tea Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of var ...

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In some ...

pub food A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pri ...

; 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 The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

picnic hampers and gift boxes; bespoke cakes; bespoke fragrance formulations; and

Bespoke Arcades Bespoke Arcades is a British manufacturer of custom-built arcade machines. Bespoke Arcades is a subsidiary of Page Global Ltd and was formed on 28 July 2005. Company clients include Wayne Rooney and Dynamo (magician), Dynamo. Their products are so ...

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.

Royal warrants

Harrods was the holder of royal warrants from: *

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...

(Provisions and Household Goods) * The Duke of Edinburgh (Outfitters) *

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

(Outfitters and Saddlers) *

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

(China and Glass) In August 2010, in a letter to ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', chairman

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. The Duke of Edinburgh removed his warrant in January 2000, and the other warrants were removed from Harrods by Al-Fayed in December, pending their five-yearly review. The Duke of Edinburgh 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 In English law, unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killing was done without lawful excuse and in breach of ...

'', a film funded by Al-Fayed and directed by Keith Allen.

Memorials

Since the

deaths Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, and

Dodi Fayed Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; arz, عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد, ʿImād ed-Dīn Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Munʿim el-Fāyid , 17 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), better known as Dodi Fayed ( ar, دودى ...

, Mohamed Al-Fayed's son, two memorials commissioned by Al-Fayed have been erected inside Harrods to the couple. 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 ''Innocent Victims'' is a copper statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, which was on display at the Harrods department store in London, England, between 2005 and 2018. It was commissioned by Dodi's father Mohamed Al-Fayed when h ...

'', 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 William Mitchell may refer to: People Media and the arts * William Mitchell (sculptor) (1925–2020), English sculptor and muralist * William Frederick Mitchell (1845–1914), British naval artist * William M. Mitchell, American writer, ministe ...

, 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. After the

death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His physician, Conrad Murray, said that ...

, Al-Fayed announced that they had already been discussing plans to build a memorial statue. This was unveiled in April 2011 at the rear of

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

football ground (

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage unde ...

) but removed in September 2013 on the orders of new club owner

Shahid Khan Shahid Rafiq Khan ( ur, ; born July 18, 1950)"Sha ...

Dress code

In 1989, Harrods introduced a dress code for customers. The store turns 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 Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 mi ...

Luke Goss Luke Damon Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English actor, and drummer of the 1980s band Bros. He has appeared in numerous films including ''Blade II'' (2002) as Jared Nomak, ''One Night with the King'' (2006) as King Xerxes, '' Hellboy II ...

, a

Scout troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted infa ...

, a woman with a Mohican hair cut, and the entire first team from

FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was ...

who were wearing tracksuits.

Size

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 Selfridges is a Grade II* listed retail premises on Oxford Street in London. It was designed by Daniel Burnham for Harry Gordon Selfridge, and opened in 1909. Still the headquarters of Selfridge & Co. department stores, with of selling space, t ...

, is a little over half the size with of selling space. By comparison Europe's second-largest department store the

KaDeWe The Kaufhaus des Westens (), abbreviated to KaDeWe, is a department store in Berlin, Germany. With over of retail space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second-largest department store in Europe after Harrods in London. It att ...

in Berlin has a retail space of .

Criticism

Harrods and

were criticised for selling real animal fur, provoking regular protests organised outside Harrods. Harrods is the only department store in Britain that has continued to sell fur. Harrods was sharply criticised in 2004 by the Hindu community for marketing a line of feminine underwear (designed by

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, perfu ...

) which featured the images of Indian goddesses. The line was eventually withdrawn and formal apologies were made. Harrods has been criticised by ''Guardian'' journalist

Sali Hughes Sali Hughes (born 21 February 1975) is a Welsh journalist, writer and broadcaster. She is ''The Guardian''s resident beauty columnist. Early life and education Hughes was born on 21 February 1975 and grew up in Blackwood, Caerphilly. Her father w ...

as "deeply sexist" for making female employees wear six kinds of makeup at all times without requiring this of male employees. Harrods was criticised by members of the

Black community Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

after the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' reported that Harrods staff told a black woman that she would not be employed unless she chemically straightened her hair, stating that her natural hair style was "unprofessional". Harrods' restaurants and cafes included a 12.5% discretionary service charge on customers' bills, but failed to share the full proceeds with kitchen and service staff. Several employees joined the UVW union, which claimed that 483 affected employees were losing up to £5,000 each in tips every year. A surprise protest and roadblock organised by the union outside Harrods during the January sales of 2017 was followed by an announcement that "an improved tronc system" would give 100% of service charges to staff.

Litigation

In 1986, the town of Otorohanga, New Zealand, briefly changed its name to "Harrodsville". This was a protest in support of a restaurateur, Henry Harrod of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, who was being forced to change the name of his restaurant following the threat of lawsuits from Mohamed Al Fayed, the then owner of Harrods department store. As a show of solidarity for Henry Harrod, and in anticipation of actions against other similar-sounding businesses, it was proposed that every business in Otorohanga change its name to "Harrods". With the support of the District Council, Otorohanga temporarily changed the town's name to Harrodsville. After being lampooned in the British tabloids, Al Fayed dropped the legal action and Harrodsville and its shops reverted to their former names. The town's response raised widespread media interest around the world, with the BBC World Service and newspapers in Greece, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada covering the story. On 27 October 2008, in the case of Harrods Ltd v. Harrods Limousine Ltd, the Harrods store applied to the

Company Names Tribunal The Company Names Tribunal was created on 1 October 2008 in the United Kingdom and is a direct result of the coming into force of Section 69 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company Names Tribunal is administered by the UK Intellectual Property Off ...

under s.69(1)(b)

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The Act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largely ...

for a change of name of Harrods Limousine Ltd, which had been registered at

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...

since 14 November 2007. The application went un-defended by the respondent and the adjudicator ordered on 16 January 2009 that Harrods Limousine Ltd must change their name within one month. Additionally the respondent was ordered not to cause or permit any steps to be taken to register another company with an offending name which could interfere, due to its similarity, with the goodwill of the applicant. Finally, Harrods Limousine Ltd was ordered to pay Harrods' costs for the litigation.

Controversy

Asma al-Assad Asma Fawaz al-Assad (born 11 August 1975) is the First Lady of Syria. Born and raised in London to Syrian parents, she is married to the 19th and current President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. Assad graduated from King's College London in 1996 ...

, the wife of the

President of Syria The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, to ...

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

, used an alias to shop at Harrods despite economic sanctions imposed by the European Union that froze funds belonging to her and her husband.

References

Sources

*''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

2007'', published by Guinness (8 August 2006),

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

Retail companies based in London Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Department stores of the United Kingdom House of Fraser Retail buildings in London British Royal Warrant holders Shops in London Tourist attractions in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Department store buildings in the United Kingdom 1834 establishments in England Knightsbridge Food halls Retail companies established in 1834 British companies established in 1834 Buildings by C. W. Stephens

History

Qatar Holdings ownership

Significant event timeline

Products and services

Royal warrants

Memorials

Dress code

Size

Criticism

Litigation

Controversy

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links