Harrods

Harrods is an upmarket department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London. Apart from the store, the Harrods Group of companies includes Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Casino, Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods.

History

Harrods started off in London's East End at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1835, Charles Henry Harrod, a tea merchant and grocery wholesaler, started his own shop opposite of his home in Stepney. Harrod was worried by a cholera epidemic sweeping London and he knew a businessman who wanted to get out of a lease on a grocery store in Knightsbridge. The shop was moved in 1849 to what was then semi-rural Brompton Road.

Related Topics:
Queen Victoria's - 1835 - Charles Henry Harrod - Tea - Merchant - Grocery - Stepney - Cholera - Epidemic - 1849

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As Knightsbridge grew Harrods grew with it and several adjoining buildings were taken over by the store.

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• 1861 - Harrods undergoes a transformation when it was taken over by Harrod's son, Charles Digby Harrod.
• December 6, 1883, fire gutted the shop buildings, giving the family the opportunity to rebuild on a grander scale.
• 1889 - Charles Digby Harrod retired, Harrods was floated on the London Stock Exchange under the name Harrod's Stores Limited.
• 1912 - Harrods opened its only foreign branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The store was modelled on the Knightsbridge store. It continued to be associated with the parent store until the 1950's when links were severed. It continues to trade under the Harrods name.
• 1959 - House of Fraser bought Harrods.
• 1985 - The store was bought by the al-Fayed brothers in 1985 for £615 million, since then the selling space has enlarged to include previously staff-only and storage areas in the basement and top floors.