World famous Harrods Department Store is located in London, U.K. Harrods was established by Charles Henry Harrod, originally in 1834 as a grocery and tea wholesale firm.

In 1849, Harrod obtained a small shop in the district of Knightsbridge, which incidentally remains the site of the current store. Harrods son Charles, impressively built the business into a thriving operation selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruits, and veggies.

Harrods quickly expanded and soon acquired nearby adjoining buildings, and employed one hundred people by 1880.* In a near tragic turn of events, a fire destroyed the store, in 1883.

However, the Harrods managed to fill and deliver all of their customer orders by the Christmas season and effectively proved their worth as exceptional purveyors of fine goods to the British public.

To date, the emporium continues to thrives as a mainstay of British elegance and class. Through out the years it has changed hands officially twice;first acquired by the House of Fraser in the late 1940s and later by Egyptian Industrialists, Mohammed and Ali Al Fayed in the 1980′s.

Today, the amazing Harrods offers everything from food to fashion, furniture to sportswear plus 20 in-store restaurants serving every kind of cuisine imaginable from pizza to sushi.

Harrods Department Store is impressively immense with over 300 departments impeccably situated over a span of seven floors. The expansive emporium sells all the items one would expect to find in an upscale department store from clothing, to jewelry, china, toys, and wedding fare.

Additionally, the store has a pet shop with a wide range of domestic and moderately exotic animals for sale. Among the most celebrated departments is that of the aptly named ‘Food Hall’. Available here is a virtually endless array of the most gracious of delicacies including fine rare cheeses, charcutarie, chocolates, Ewe, and pastries galore.

For a special treat, stop by Harrods at night to enjoy the store fully illuminated by 11,500 light bulbs.

Of course the finest in luxury gourmet items are offered with a price tag to match. Within the alimentary shoppe, one can also find a number of regular grocery items that cost no more than the Safeway supermarket down the road. For travelers to London, this historic British institution is a definite ‘must see’.

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road,
Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL.
Tel: 020 7730 1234

For the English socialite worried about getting shot, oversize paramilitary gear simply won’t do. Fortunately, London’s super rich can now maintain their security without sacrificing style.

On July 14, Miguel Caballero, the world’s only producer of “designer bulletproof fashion,” started selling his high-security garments at posh London department store Harrods. His new collection includes blazers, raincoats and suede jackets, some replete with a comforting stab-proof lining.

Customers get to select from three levels of ballistic protection. For instance, a polo shirt that can withstand a slug from a 9-mm revolver costs roughly $7,500; a version for about $9,800 protects wearers from automatic weapons, including mini-Uzis.

The Colombian designer began producing high-security fashion 16 years ago while studying at Bogotá’s Los Andes University, where his classmates–many of whom were the children of politicians–wore protective vests that were heavy and nondiscreet. Fast-forward to his latest leather jacket, which weighs a trim 2.6 lb. (1.2 kg) and doesn’t scream bulletproof.
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Walking by up-scale retail stores during the holiday season is a memorable journey.  Stylish window displays abound.  It’s a treat for our shopping, glazed over eyes.  Stores around the world spare no expense decorating their displays to dazzle us with sound, lights and incredible visual images.  They’re no longer just for show, but to create an advertising buzz to attract shoppers and get them into their stores.

At Harrods in London, window manager Sarah Southgate created a beautiful Russian Winter’s Tale, complete with scenes from classic ballets like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Swan Lake”, as well as captivating scenes of winter gardens in Czarist Russia.  To catch shopper’s eyes, an Oscar de la Renta dress is featured in a woodland scene.  Cost: £6,700 (about $13,400).  Full article