Harrods Department Store

Harrods has a fully functional ecommerce website for you to shop online, secure in the knowledge that you are dealing with your favourite, tried and trusted department store.

Harrods Today.
Harrods is best known as an up market department store in Knightsbridge, London. Now it also has a fully functional e-commerce website so that you the online shopper can buy from your favourite department store without the inconvenience and expense of getting in to Knightsbridge. Apart from the store and the website, the Harrods Group of companies includes Harrods Bank, Harrods Estate and Harrods Air. The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things, For All People, Everywhere.

When the businessman, Mohamed Al Fayed, purchased Harrods in 1985, its place as the world's premier department store was already firmly established - but he realised that much still needed to be done in order to prepare it for the decades ahead. He instigated a massive £400 million refurbishment project in order to return the 'Palace in Knightsbridge' to its former glory. Every corner of the department store received Mr Al Fayed's attention and, as well as refurbishing the fabric of the building - including the exquisite Edwardian terracotta façade - enchanting new rooms and facilities were added.

Two of the most spectacular new additions pay homage to Mohamed Al Fayed's heritage - and it is impossible for visitors to the store not to be transfixed by the spectacular Central Egyptian Escalator completed in 1997 and the grand Egyptian Halls.

Harrods world famous brand
The name Harrods is known throughout Europe and around the world for its dedication to service, and the highest possible quality. This is embodied in the store's motto," Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things, For All People, Everywhere. While the retailer has shops in fashionable districts and airports around the globe, the epicenter of this empire is the flagship department store in Knightsbridge. It is here that shoppers flock every Christmas to marvel as the splendors available, then again descend on the great halls weeks later to pick through its world-famous annual sale.

Harrod's a brief history
So how does a single store become this famous? It started with Charles Henry Harrod, who in 1849 opened a small shop in Knightsbridge. Harrod was already established as a successful grocer when he struck out on his own. He had the fortune of opening up shop in an area that was just becoming a haunt of the rich and famous. His new neighbors with their newly minted money learned of his department store and his willingness to seek out the most incredible objects to fulfill their desires. Harrod had experience in tea imports, so this was a natural extension of his existing talents. Over time the grocery line expanded into glassware, linens, and objects d'art. As the business grew, so did the store, taking over adjacent properties as necessary until it took over the entire block and became the biggest store in London. The key to Harrod's success is simple, but it is a formula that has escaped other retailers -- high quality, consistent over time. For a more complete history of Harrods see our History of Harrods feature page.

Unusual Facts about Harrods

• It was at Harrod's that A.A. Milne purchased a stuffed bear for his son. That bear later became the inspiration for "Winnie the Pooh."
• Harrod's had the first escalator in Britain. The exterior of the department store is outlined with 11,500 light bulbs.
• 1997 - A memorial is erected inside the store to Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed, who were killed in a car crash in Paris. At the time of their deaths, the store was owned by Dodi's father, Mohammed Al Fayed.