Harrods

Harrods is an upmarket department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods, and to Harrods Buenos Aires, sold by Harrods in 1922 and closed as of 2011, with plans announced to reopen in 2013.

The store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m²) site and has 330 departments covering one million square feet (90,000 m²) of retail space, making it the biggest department store in Europe.

The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique, which is Latin for 'All Things for All People, Everywhere'. Several of its departments, including the seasonal Christmas department and the Food Halls, are well known.

History

At the age of 25, Charles Henry Harrod first established his business in 1824. The business was located south of the River Thames in Southwark. The premises were located at 228 Borough High Street. He ran this business, variously listed as a draper, mercer, and a haberdasher, certainly until 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, Clerkenwell, E.C.1., in 1832.