Harrods

Harrods began as a family grocery in the 1830s and grew into a global icon on Brompton Road. The current building, designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, opened in 1905, replacing the earlier shop founded by Harrod’s father, Charles Henry Harrod, in 1849 after a fire in 1881. Today, Harrods spans about 1,100,000 square feet of selling space, making it Europe’s largest department store and one of the world’s biggest, with around 15 million visitors annually (as of 2023). The store’s lineage moved through a series of ownership changes: Harrod’s Stores Limited formed in the late 19th century, joining House of Fraser in 1959, then passing to the Fayed brothers, and finally being privatized again in 1994. In 2010, Harrods was acquired by the Qatar Investment Authority, which remains its owner. The building itself was designated Grade II* listed in 1969, underscoring its architectural and historic significance. …

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