Harrods

Harrods is a Grand smart store of London (Great Britain), located on Brompton Road in the district of Knightsbridge. Harrods is also a department store of Buenos Aires (Argentine), located on the Calle Florida, closed in 1998 during the Argentinian Economic crisis and on standby to become. Lastly, Harrods is a mark conveying an image of Luxe, affixed on products, and being used as Enseigne with Entreprise S and Internet sites.

Harrods of London: Harrods off Knightsbridge

the store has an influence on the ground of 18.225 square meters and an sales area of more than 92.000 square meters out of seven levels, which makes of it largest department store of London.
Harrods employs 3500 worker.

the station of subway nearest to the store is Knightsbridge on the Piccadilly Line, which is worth off to him the nickname of Harrods Knightsbridge .
the currency of Harrods is " Omnia Ubique omnibus" - " All, Everywhere, For tous" . Some of its rays among which those of Christmas and delicatessen (Food Hall) have a world reputation.
He is in particular the official supplier of the uniforms intended for the pupils of the most prestigious schools: Alton General assembly of Freemasons, Clear Court, Kew Green, Kings Short, Parkgate House, Ravenscourt Park, Mulberry House and Queenswood.
the current owner of the store is the family Al-Fayed which in 1985 took the control of House off Fraser , company then holder of Harrods (London), by repurchasing the securities marketable quoted on London Stock Exchange for 615 million pounds sterling. In 1994, the store is dissociated from the group House off Fraser and the actions of this last are resold on the market. Harrods Lmd , the company having and exploiting Harrods (London), is created and is the exclusive property of family Al-Fayed by the means of the Harrods-Holding.

History

Charles Henry and Charles Digby Harrod: contractors

The epopee of Charles Henry Harrod started in East End , the suburbs is of London, a poor zone little before the reign of the Queen Victoria. In 1834, it begins as wholesaler in grocer specialist in the teas on Cable Street in Stepney and modifies the store.

1880 - Harrods employs 200 worker. Quickly, it changes the legal status into Public limited company and yields actions on the market of the stocks and shares of the Bourse of London under the name of Harrod' S Store Limited .
1891 - Richard Burbidge becomes about it managing director, it will be the man who will transform Harrods into department store as we know it today. It launches out in a policy of acquisition and construction around what exists. The number of employees is multiplied by ten between 1889, during the quotation of Harrod' S Store Limited , and 1902 to reach 2000 paid.

1892-1912 Of heavy work of modifications and enlarging under the direction of the architect Charles William Stephens will give to the building practically its final frontage in the store, first world for a trade. This invention patented by Jesse W. Reno in 1892, used for the first time at New York like attraction in 1896, will be supplemented by other patents and will give rise to the escalator which will be developed and marketed only starting from 1899 by the company Otis. The successive enlargings make it possible to develop new activities like an banking agency and real. The four stages built with the top it store make it possible to rent sumptuous apartments of which it replaces the sign by his but in front of the outcry of the customers the old one is hung up again as of the following year.
Years 1920, the sales area is increased while extending on the second and the third stage taking the place from the luxurious apartments.
1921 - Harrod' S blind limited acquires finally the grounds on which the store of Brompton road is built by repurchasing them with the family Goddard .
August 1949 - the store William Henderson , 24 Church Street with Liverpool, becomes subsidiary of Harrods Lmd .

Harrods the jewel of the group House off Fraser

August 24th, 1959, the Scottish & Universal Investments Ltd , a British company subsidiary of House off Fraser , take the control of Harrods Lmd after a stock exchange battle against the store chain Debenhams .

In 1968, Harrods off Knightsbridge directed by Alfred Spence posts a flourishing health and has an established international reputation.
8/22/1973 - explosive devices, asserted by a mail of the WILL GO, were discovered in the Harrods store.
12/22/1974 - a bomb exploded in the Harrods store and put fire at part of the third stage, making fortunately one casualty.
12/7/1976 - the gambling debts of Sir Hugh Fraser touch its business, forcing it to sell approximately the equivalent of 2,4 million dollars of shares of the Scottish & Universal Investments Ltd the parent company of Harrod' S Store Lmd .
Years 1980, the sales area is again increased while being extended on the fourth floor.
12/17/1983 - an bomb attack in one of the streets skirting Harrods perpetrated by an unauthorized activist of the WILL GO, using the good codes of recognition, keep silent six people.

Rebirth of Harrods with family Al-Fayed

August 1st

1985 - brothers Al-Fayed spend 615 million Pounds Sterling to repurchase House Fraser off, taking the control of the parent company of Harrods. Since, the sales area was increased including the old zones of the personnel and storage.
1994 - Harrods off knightsbridge is dissociated from the group House off Fraser whose titles are resold on London Stock Exchange. Harrods Limited , the company exploiting and having the store lately created, becomes the property of family Al-Fayed through the Harrods-Holding and Mohamed Al-Fayed becomes the chairman (Chairman) about it.

List off successive managing directors of Harrods Knightsbridge

Anecdotes and eccentricities relating to Harrods

Harrods was official supplier of the royal family

The first title of " supplier royal" ( Royal Warrant ), still into force in 2000, was granted in 1938 to Harrods by the queen mother for her porcelain, glassmaking and its curios. Then in 1955 by the new queen Elisabeth II for her food supply and domestic goods. One year later according to the tendency, the Duc of Edinburgh also grants the title of " to him; supplier officiel" for its clothing. Later, the Prince de Galles will make of Harrods its supplier of clothing in 1980 and his saddler in 1985.
The title of official supplier (" Warrant") go back to the Middle Ages and for example was granted to Thomas Hewytt by Henry VIII. To obtain this title, it is necessary to be supplier of a family member near royal during at least five years. He is not granted systematically and the product or service should not inevitably be used directly by a family member royal. Its attribution and its renewal every five years are at the discretion of the Lord Chamberlin. This title allows the use of the royal symbols on the sign, the products or the mail for example with the mention " By appointement to… " .
In full movement continuation the disappearance of Lady Di in company of Dodi Al-Fayed (wire of the chairman of Harrods) going back to August 1997, bursts the advertisement of nonthe renewal of the title of supplier of the Duke of Edinburgh for the end of the year in progress (at the 12/31/2000) under pretext of " significant decline in the commercial relation " , which did not alleviate the spirits. Mohamed Al-Fayed, the father of Dodi and chairman of Harrods, breaks at the end of 2000 all commercial links with the other family members royal. It makes remove any trace, on the blazon hung on the frontage of the building, the vehicles and the envelopes and writing papers of Harrods of the symbols and mentions relating to the royal family.

A memorial in remembering Lady Di and Dodi Al-Fayed in Harrods

In 1998, Mohamed Al-Fayed made install a 2,40 height meters memorial sheltering a bronze sculpture forming a surmounted framework of a bird surrounding the portraits of his/her son and Lady Di in lower part of which a small cascade runs. In front of the outcry of the advertisement of its project definitively to install a large memorial in the store in competition with the official fountain of Hyde Park, it preserves the installation in the state keeping its project for later. It will conclude it in 2005 with statues, bearing the name of innocent victims and drawn by Bill Mitchell a family friend, evoking the last holidays of the couple on the Mediterranean. The couple is held by the hand and is looked in the eyes releasing a albatross which spreads its wings with the top of them. The statues were run in the bronzes at the Bronze foundry Old in the east of London.

Harrods is not any more Harrod' S

In 1928, during its fusion with DH Evan , Harrod' S blind lmd changed company name to become Harrods Lmd losing with the passage its apostrophizes. In 2006, defenders of the English language whose John Richards, president of association Apostrophe Protection Society , protested against this simplifying practice in trade names. It is however to notice that other companies like Selfridges, Barclays and Currys proceeded in the same way.

Unusual services offered by Harrods

In 1968, Harrods was already famous to provide all that a customer of a choice of two hundred cheeses wanted going, a piano of the French mark Érard, a baby elephant, heads of cabbages or to find the service necessary like a piper or to organize a reception of thousand guests for example. In addition, the stores had a service export able to send to the four corners of planet products like currants in Saudi Arabia or flowers for a marriage in Nigeria.

Harrods of Buenos Aires: Harrods BA

Harrods BA is, in 2006, a held company with 51% by CBC-Interconfinanz (Italo-Switzerland company represented by Atilio Gibertoni). The Besknet company is the other major shareholder of the company. It has and exploited a store in Buenos Aires (Argentinian) which closed its door in 1998 and is holder of the Harrods mark for South America. Its shareholders hope to be able to reopen the doors of the store after having financed heavy work of restoration in 2003 and 2004. The frontage of the store giving on the street Florida was classified like inheritance of the town of Buenos Aires and for this reason is protected in 1913 carrying the sales area to 60.000 m ². During the years 1990 the director of Harrods BA , Mr Guillermo Díaz, research in vain new actionnaires.
Harrods off Knightsbridge question wrongly the use of the Harrods mark to the store of Buenos Aires which nevertheless firm its doors touched by the Argentinian economic crisis. Indeed, In 1995, Harrods off Knightsbridge seeking the exclusiveness in the mark, its proposal for a repurchase having been isolated to the beginning of the year 1990, involve Harrods BA on a legal ground near a British court. The Court and the Court of Appeal in 1998 confirms the legitimacy of the company Harrods BA to use the mark in South America knowing that it had taken care to record it with its name, of long time, in Argentina and in adjoining countries (cf will infra '' Harrods a coveted mark ''). Weakened by the economic crisis hyper-inflationist of 1989, it does not resist the Argentinian Economic crisis recessionnist of 1998, in the wake of the Mexicaine crisis of 1995. It gradually reduces its sales area to finish during its closing in 1998 with only one level exploited on the seven which account the building. The last incomes (30 000$/an) generated by the company are those related to the exploitation of a carpark.

Since 1999, Harrods BA fights to exist

CBC-Interconfinanz, shareholder of Harrods BA having the real estate and the mark, do not succeed in selling, find a associate and set out again of the front one. Indeed, since 1998, the shareholder group of Harrods BA tries various Stratégie S to disengage itself in its turn, the sale in block and by apartments of the real estate fails whereas the country is inserted of advantage in the crisis. In December 2001, the Argentinian government prohibited all withdrawal of bank deposit in order to avoid a massive escape of the capital out of the country, solidifying with the passage the liquidities of the foreign investors. The group of council Ernst & Young then imagines for Harrods BA a means for recapitaliser which he hopes to extend to other Argentinas companies. Each associate wishing to make party of the project can bring his liquidities " piégées" in the banking system and to receive in exchange a quota of the actions of Harrods BA which continues to be directed by CBC-Interconfinanz. In parallel the company Harrods BA tries to rebound by exploiting the mark Harrods through one sixty of domain names Internet, which it off loses in 2002 following a lawsuit for the benefit of Harrods Knightsbridge (cf will infra '' Harrods a coveted mark '').
The signal given by the exposure organized in the store of the street Florida is followed several projects encountering each time a lack of financing, the remaining store closed door. Indeed, réouveture of Harrods declared like cultural interest by the House of Commons of the nation (Argentinian). The success of the exposure probably encourages to modify the initial plan of the project which consisted in creating a Shopping mall on the 6500m ² of the ground floor. Only in March 2004, no investor is found pushing back the foreseeable date of opening and in June 2004, Harrods BA is not any more able to pay its suppliers. The auction of its buildings is avoided of accuracy thanks to the intervention of Lucas Figueras representing of Besknet which paid the sums due. Whereas the Argentinian economy took again the way of the growth in 2005 and 2006, Harrods BA is always closed, but its Actionnaire S counts more than ever to reopen the doors of this store.

The Harrods mark

The development of the mark by family Al-Fayed

The London store gave its name to a group and companies exerting in the fields most various and pertaining to family Al-Fayed. Apart from the trade, the group Harrods (Harrods Holding) is implied in other activities: Harrods Bank (banks), Harrods Estates (real), Harrods Casino (plays), Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods (air transport).
The name is used as mark with market products in Asian shopping malls, shops of airports and even on boats. Indeed, Harrods has spaces of sale in the Shopping mall Takashimaya (Ngeeanncity) of Singapore, in the stores Mitsukoshi through all the Japan and in the department store Seibu of Hong-Kong (China). Moreover, one selection of Harrods products is available in many airports on the basis of London to Heathrow and Gatwick (London, Great Britain), while passing by others of Europe continental (Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon, Vienna), of North America (Toronto) and of Asia (Kuala Lumpur) and the Queen Mary 2 to only take most prestigious.

Harrods a coveted mark

The beginning of the year 1990, Harrods off Knigthbridge fails to recover the rights in the countries of South America for the Harrods mark which remains the property of Harrods BA . Indeed, it tries to negotiate with Harrods BA the mark offering to him up to 10 million dollars, but no agreement is found. Later, in 1995, it tries to continue the second in justice, being based on contractual engagements existing but neither is followed by High the Court of British Justice, which breaks certain terms of the Contrat, nor in 1998 by the Court of Call which admits an implicit contractual right to use the mark in South America. However, the zone of use around Argentina was not precisely defined, the plaintiff stopping the procedure in progress there. Moreover, in 2002, a verdict of the Court of Appeal of the United States for the fourth circuit makes it possible Harrods Lmd to take again the hand on sixty domain names deposited by Harrods BA

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