Harrods facts for kids
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Harrods department store in London, 2009
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Genre | Department store |
| Founded | 1849 |
| Founder | Charles Henry Harrod |
| Headquarters | 87–135 Brompton Road London, SW1 |
| Products | Quality and luxury goods |
| Revenue |  £2 billion (2017) |
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Operating income
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£253.3 million (2017) |
| £233.2 million (2017) |
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| Owner | Qatar Investment Authority |
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Number of employees
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ca. 4,000 (2019) |
| Subsidiaries |
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Harrods is a famous luxury department store in London, England. It is located on Brompton Road in the Knightsbridge area. The store is owned by Harrods Ltd, which is part of the Qatar Investment Authority. This is a special investment fund from the country of Qatar.
The Harrods name is also used for other businesses. These include Harrods Estates (for properties) and Harrods Aviation (for planes). Harrods is known as one of the world's best department stores. About 15 million people visit it every year.
The store is very large, covering about 5 acres (2 hectares) of land. It has 330 different departments. These departments cover over 1.1 million square feet (100,000 square meters) of shopping space. This makes it one of the biggest and most famous stores in the world.
Harrods' motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique. This is a Latin phrase that means "all things for all people, everywhere". Many of its departments are very well known. These include the Seasonal Christmas department, the jewellery sections, and the Food Halls.
Harrods also helped start the International Association of Department Stores in 1928. This group is still active today. Harrods was a member until 1935.
Contents
History of Harrods
Early Beginnings (1824-1881)
In 1824, Charles Henry Harrod started his first business. He was 25 years old and sold fabrics and clothing. In 1832, he opened a grocery business in London.
In 1834, Harrod started a wholesale grocery business in Stepney, London. He focused especially on selling tea. In 1849, he took over a small shop in Brompton. This was near Hyde Park, where the Great Exhibition was held in 1851. Harrod hoped to attract visitors from the exhibition.
The shop started with just two assistants and a messenger boy. Charles Harrod's son, Charles Digby Harrod, helped the business grow. They began selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruits, and vegetables. Harrods quickly got bigger. By 1881, it had bought nearby buildings and employed 100 people.
Growth and Challenges (1883-1959)
In December 1883, a big fire destroyed the store. But Charles Harrod managed to deliver all Christmas orders that year. He even made a record profit! Soon, a new, grander building was built on the same spot.
Harrods then started offering credit to its best customers. Famous people like Oscar Wilde, Charlie Chaplin, and members of the British Royal Family shopped there. Beatrix Potter also visited the store often. Her book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was sold at Harrods. It was even sold with the world's first licensed character toy, a Peter Rabbit soft toy.
In 1921, A. A. Milne bought a teddy bear from Harrods for his son, Christopher Robin Milne. This bear, named Winnie, became the inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh.
In 1889, Charles Harrod sold his share of the store for £120,000. The company then became Harrod's Stores Limited. In 1898, Harrods introduced England's first "moving staircase" or escalator. It was made of woven leather. Nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to help them feel better!
The department store was bought by House of Fraser in 1959.
Modern Ownership (1985-Present)
In 1985, the Fayed brothers bought House of Fraser, including Harrods. In 1994, Harrods became a private company again. It was no longer part of the House of Fraser Group.
Qatar Holdings Ownership
In May 2010, Harrods was sold to Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This is the investment fund of Qatar. The chairman of Harrods at the time, Mohamed Al-Fayed, had said it was not for sale. But the deal was made on May 8, 2010. The Prime Minister of Qatar said buying Harrods would add "much value" to Qatar's investments.
Al-Fayed later said he sold Harrods because it was difficult to get his profits approved. He was made an honorary chairman for six months.
In 2013, the "Disney at Harrods" partnership added a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon. This joined the existing Disney Cafe and Disney Store.
Key Moments in Harrods History
- 1824: Charles Henry Harrod starts his first business in London.
- 1834: Charles Henry Harrod opens a wholesale grocery business.
- 1849: Harrods moves to the Knightsbridge area of London.
- 1861: Charles Harrod's son, Charles Digby Harrod, takes over the business.
- 1883: A fire destroys the shop buildings. This allows for a grander rebuilding.
- 1889: Harrods shares are sold on the London Stock Exchange. The company is named Harrod's Stores Limited.
- 1905: The current Harrods building is finished.
- 1914: Harrods opens its only foreign branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1914: The Harrods Furniture Depository is built in Barnes, London.
- 1923: A lemur named Mah-Jongg is sold at Harrods. It lived with its owners for 15 years.
- 1959: The British company House of Fraser buys Harrods.
- 1969: Christian the lion is bought at Harrods. He was later set free in Kenya.
- 1983: A terrorist attack happens outside the Brompton store.
- 1985: The Fayed brothers buy House of Fraser, including Harrods.
- 1986: The New Zealand town of Otorohanga briefly changes its name to "Harrodsville". This was a protest against a legal threat from Harrods.
- 1990: A Harrods shop opens on the RMS Queen Mary in California.
- 1993: Another terrorist attack injures people near the store.
- 1994: Harrods becomes a private company again, owned by the Fayed family.
- 2000: A Harrods shop opens on board the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship.
- 2008: Harrods opens a shop at Heathrow Airport (Terminal 5).
- 2010: Mohamed Al-Fayed sells Harrods to the Qatar Investment Authority for £1.5 billion.
- 2010: Harrods considers opening a new shop in Shanghai, China.
- 2017: Harrods Bank, which had been operating since 1893, is sold and renamed.
- 2020: Harrods faces financial losses and staff reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Products and Services at Harrods
Harrods has 330 departments that offer many different products and services. You can find clothing for all ages, electronics, and jewellery. They also sell sporting gear, pet accessories, and toys. Famous toys include the Christmas and signature teddy bears.
You can also buy food and drinks, health and beauty items, and gifts. The store sells stationery, housewares, home appliances, and furniture.
Harrods offers many services too. There are 23 restaurants, serving everything from high tea to tapas. You can get help from a personal shopper. There are also services for watch repair, tailoring, and a pharmacy. You can visit a beauty spa, a barbershop, or get help planning events. Harrods also offers food delivery, custom picnic baskets, and special cakes.
On busy days, up to 300,000 customers visit the store. Many of these customers come from countries where English is not the main language. More than 5,000 staff members from over 50 different countries work at Harrods.
In 2009, Harrods Bank started selling gold bars and coins. Customers could buy gold products from 1 gram to 12.5 kilograms. They also offered storage services for the gold.
Royal Warrants
Harrods used to hold royal warrants. These are special awards from the British Royal Family. They show that a company supplies goods or services to the Royal Household. Harrods had warrants from:
- Queen Elizabeth II (for household goods)
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (for clothing)
- Charles III (for clothing and saddlery)
- Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (for china and glass)
In 2010, the former chairman, Mohamed Al-Fayed, said he had burned the royal warrants. He had taken them down in 2000. Harrods had held these warrants since 1910. Al-Fayed said that business had tripled since the warrants were removed.
Memorials at Harrods
After the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, Mohamed Al-Fayed's son, two memorials were placed inside Harrods. Al-Fayed arranged for these memorials.
The first memorial was put up in 1998. It is at the bottom of the Egyptian Escalator. It shows photos of Diana and Dodi. It also has a wine glass with lipstick from Diana's last dinner. There is also a ring that Dodi bought for Diana.
The second memorial was unveiled in 2005. It is called Innocent Victims. This is a bronze statue of Diana and Dodi dancing on a beach. They are under the wings of an albatross. An albatross is a bird that is said to represent the "Holy Spirit". William Mitchell, a friend of Al-Fayed, created the sculpture. Al-Fayed said he wanted to keep their "spirit alive" through the statue.
Dress Code
In 1989, Harrods started a dress code for customers. The store would not let in people who were not dressed properly. Some forbidden items included cycling shorts, swimwear, and flip-flops. Bare feet, bare midriffs, or dirty clothing were also not allowed.
Famous people like Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan were once turned away. A Scout troop and a woman with a Mohican haircut were also not allowed in. Even a football team wearing tracksuits was turned away.
As of 2023, Harrods does not have a strict dress code for entry. This includes their restaurants. However, they can still refuse entry to anyone who is not dressed appropriately. Sportswear, including trainers, shorts, and tracksuits, is now allowed.
Size of the Store
Harrods covers a 5-acre (2-hectare) site. It has over 1 million square feet (90,000 square meters) of selling space. This makes it the biggest department store in Europe. For comparison, the UK's second-biggest shop, Selfridges, Oxford Street, is about half the size.
Legal Matters
In 1986, a town in New Zealand called Otorohanga briefly changed its name to "Harrodsville". This was a protest to support a restaurant owner named Henry Harrod. He was being forced to change his restaurant's name because of legal threats from Mohamed Al-Fayed. To show support, the town decided to temporarily change its name to Harrodsville. This got a lot of media attention worldwide. After being made fun of in British newspapers, Al-Fayed dropped the legal action. The town and its shops went back to their original names.
See also
In Spanish: Harrods para niños
- Harrods Buenos Aires
- Fortnum & Mason
- Jenners, known as the "Harrods of the North"
