Since the store first opened its doors in 1849, Harrods has always prided itself on a reputation for excellence, that nothing is too much trouble to our customers, and finding the finest-quality merchandise. But this is just part of the Harrods story. The store is much more than a shopping destination, more than just a splendid building. Its story is tied up in the people who have passed through its doors, worked here, written about it and added to its magnificent architecture.

Noël Coward, Sigmund Freud, Oscar Wilde, Queen Mary, AA Milne and Pierce Brosnan have each added their own mark to the store's rich patina – and as each year goes on, Harrods continues to grow, adapt, reassess and reinvent itself to create a new history.

The early days

Public company

But the Harrods family decided they had enough of retail, and in 1889 the store became a public company. The 1890s were boom time, and new departments were added – including the Harrods Bank and Estate Agency – as well as the very first sale or ‘Winter Clearance’ in 1894. The new Managing Director Richard Burbidge was well ahead of his time, introducing the world’s first escalator in 1898 (with brandy at the top to revive nervous customers), shortening working hours for his 200 staff, and devising of a grand plan to build the world’s most luxurious department store.

The terracotta palace

Burbidge’s audacity was as monumental as the grand store he started building in 1901, designed by architect of Claridge’s Hotel C.W. Stephens. It was positively palatial, with a frontage clad in terracotta tiles adorned with swags, cherubs, pilasters and swirling Art Nouveau windows – and topped by a baroque dome, which still contains nothing more exciting than a water tank. Inside, the magnificent interiors included vivid Royal Doulton tiles – still in place in the Meat Hall – fine rococo plasterwork created by Parisian craftsmen, and a vast tea room with an Art Nouveau skylight, now the Georgian Restaurant. Harrods instantly became London’s most fashionable store. In the early 1900s, writer Arnold Bennett based his novel Hugo on the store, while Harrods was recreated on the London stage in 1907 in the hugely successful musical comedy ‘Our Miss Gibbs’. With 91 departments, the store occupied just the ground and first floors of the building.

The four storeys above were made up of lavishly appointed mansion flats, whose stately entrance can still be seen in Hans Road. Even the newly built Selfridges in Oxford Street could not compete – and the two Managing Directors as to which store would make more profits in 1927. Gordon Selfridge lost, and his gift of a silver replica of Harrods still stits on the Lower Ground Floor of our store.

Fame and fortune

The famous Harrods motto 'Everything for Everybody Everywhere' has more than lived up to its meaning over the years. Noël Coward was bought an alligator for Christmas from our Pet Shop, while Ronald Reagan was on the receiving end of a baby elephant named Gertie. Author A.A. Milne found the original Winnie-the-Pooh for his son Christopher Robin here, and Alfred Hitchcock had fresh herrings flown to him in Hollywood. In the early 1900s, the store made yachts to order, ran its own funeral service (embalming Sigmund Freud), sold aeroplanes and built houses. In the 1930s, you could see one of the world’s first television sets at Harrods or hire a fully equipped ambulance – complete with a nurse. You could join the store’s lending library during the 1940s and even have the clocks in your home wound by the store’s specialist winding service.

Changing fortunes

Harrods has constantly evolved over the years to keep up with trends. The 1920s saw luxury apartments on the second and third floors converted to selling space, while the following decade saw south side of the store was rebuilt to provide a sleek vast area of men’s tailoring requirements, as well as a Younger Set Gown Department to cater for changing women’s fashions. But soon the war would change society – and Harrods with it. The store’s lavish tea dances hosted by Victor Sylvester, limousine hire and debutante fashion for coming parties would be swept aside. Instead, the store turned to the war effort, producing uniforms, parachutes and parts for Lancaster bombers, and sections of the building were taken over by the Royal Navy.

There was not much money to be spent during the frugal post-war years and Harrods suffered. Finally in 1959, the House of Fraser group acquired the store, and began to upgrade what was seen as an old-fashioned institution. The masterstroke was the opening of Way In in 1967, a swinging young boutique that brought Carnaby Street to Harrods, followed by a spectacular black marble Perfumery Hall in 1971 and its white marble Cosmetics Hall counterpart the following year.

Takeover makeover

During the 1980s, Harrods found itself feeling outmoded despite the Toy rooms being expanded and moved to the fourth floor. It was only when the Fayed family acquired the House of Fraser Group for £615 million that Harrods became a family-owned firm once again and the store’s fortunes began to turn. Mohamed Al Fayed assumed the title of Chairman and instantly inititated a £300 million refurbishment plan to restore Harrods to its former glory.

His master plan included opening up the lower ground floor to contemporary men’s fashion, a new floor devoted to sports, lavish marble-clad rooms of luxury accessories and a £30 million computerised Distribution Centre to speed up shipments. But the grand centrepiece was the Egyptian Escalator, a magnificent £20 million homage to ancient Egypt, designed alongside experts from the British Museum for authenticity.

Since that time, the store has constantly been upgraded and improved. After a £6 million overhaul, the Hair & Beauty department was reborn as Urban Retreat, Europe’s largest health and beauty salon; £4 million was lavished on the Cosmetics Hall to create London’s premier beauty destination; the store’s personal shopping service has been relaunched as the premium By Appointment and fans of the store can carry their own Harrods credit card all over the world.

A kind of magic

Harrods is very much a city within a city. Covering 4.5 acres, with over 1 million square feet of selling space, the store generates 70% of its own electricity from its own generators, draws water from its three artesian wells – the deepest of which is 489 ft – and operates 40 lifts that cover 39,800 miles per year. Our switchboard takes 7,000 calls a day, and the famous facade is picked out by 12,000 lightbulbs – of which 300 a day are changed by the store’s electrical engineers.

Impressive though budgets and statistics are, Harrods is made up of more than just figures: it’s pure magic that sets the store apart from others. Where else can you stumble across a £1 million pair of diamond-encrusted shoes or purchase a £250,000 Madame Tussaud’s waxwork of yourself? During the 1970s, you’d find Dave Prowse – the original Darth Vader – working as a fitness consultant in the sports department, while future 007 Pierce Brosnan was serving on the counter in the Harrods Pharmacy. Who knows what the sales associates serving today will go on to achieve?

The energy of store today comes across in the unexpected. Perhaps opera singers performing arias up the Egyptian Escalators, Joan Collins signing her latest book or Donatella Versace launching her newest fragrance in person. But the unexpected also comes from attention to every detail in every department. Whether you are booking theatre tickets, having a facial, ordering sashimi or choosing from our 300 varieties of cheese, Harrods will make shopping not just a chore or a pastime, but an experience.

Harrods has remained London's premier retail outlet for over 155 years, yet the fundamental ethic of selling quality merchandise and giving customers exemplary service has never been questioned or compromised. At Harrods, truly anything is possible.

Opening times Including Bank Holidays

By Appointment Personal Shopping

Europe's first premium personal shopping service dedicated to men was launched by Harrods in February 2007 with the opening of a spectacular space in the men’s department on the lower ground floor. The launch was in response to the phenomenal success of By Appointment Personal Shopping and an increasing demand from male customers using the existing service.

BY APPOINTMENT is a luxurious shopping service that now specialises in menswear; bespoke tailoring, gadgets, technology, visionary and sophisticated watches. Our highly skilled personal shoppers will select from the entire store and source original pieces by luxury brands from all over the world.

The department will continue to offer an unrivalled service in personal shopping, fulfilling clients’ every need with no limit on what can be requested. Expert personal shoppers provide a sublime tailored wardrobe, accessories, gifts advice and selection with maximum shopping in minimum time. Attention to detail, service and quality are guaranteed as well as direct access to a world of prestigious luxury exclusives, limited editions and rare items.

Exclusive to BY APPOINTMENT will be a watch room displaying limited and exclusive pieces. Private events, previews, shows and launches will be personalised to meet clients’ individual tastes.

1,650 sq ft on the Men’s Floor, on Harrods lower ground floor, has been turned into an indulgent, sumptuous environment, invoking the sense of luxury and ambience found in private members clubs with the functional requirements needed for discreet effortless shopping experiences.

Sukeena Rao, Head of BY APPOINTMENT confirmed, "We are dedicated to providing the ultimate service for our clients with amazing access to unique luxury goods and experiences. The personal shoppers will provide a level of service that clients cannot live without."

BY APPOINTMENT at Harrods is a complimentary service.