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Monday 1 June 2015

Harrods

Charles Henry Harrod first established his business in 1834 , when he established a wholesale grocery in Stepney, East London with a special interest in tea.

In order to capitalize on trade to the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park, Harrod took over a small shop on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge in 1849, on the site of the current store.


Britain's first escalator was installed in Harrods', London store on November 16, 1898. The device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a mahogany and "silver plate-glass" balustrade.

Until 1916, cocaine and heroin could be bought over the counter at Harrods.

On December 17, 1983 the Provisional IRA detonated a car bomb at Harrods Department Store. The blast killed three police officers and three civilians, and injured 90 people. The bomb exploded outside the store, causing significant damage to the building and nearby vehicles. Harrods had been targeted by the IRA in previous years, and the 1983 bombing was part of the ongoing conflict between the IRA and British authorities during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

In 1986 Harrods threatened with a lawsuit a small restaurant in the town of Otorohanga, New Zealand with the same name. In response, the town changed its name to Harrodsville and renamed all of its businesses ‘Harrods'.

Harrods' seasonal Christmas department is world famous. In 2001 the store had to replace Santa's reindeer and sleigh with a horse and cart because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

In 2008, British chef Paul Hollywood created an almond and roquefort sourdough recipe, which was said to be the most expensive bread in Britain. It was sold for £15 per loaf at Harrods.

Harrods' London store occupies a five-acre site and has over one million square feet of selling space in over 330 departments making it the biggest department store in Europe.

Harrods pictured in 2009. By Diliff -  Wikipedia

Harrods has a strict dress code for their customers and has turned away the likes of Kylie Minogue, a soldier in uniform and a Scout troop, for not abiding by it.

The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique—All Things for All People, Everywhere.

Source Wikipedia

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