Harrods

Harrods is an upmarket department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to Harrods enterprises, including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods.

Fashion plate of 1909 shows wealthy Londoners walking in front of Harrods

The store has a 5-acre (20,000 m²) site. It has 330 departments covering one million square feet (90,000 m²) of retail space. It is said to be the biggest department store in Europe.

Harrods was founded by Charles Henry Harrod in 1834. In the 20th century they bought other stores in the UK. In 1959, the British department store holding company, House of Fraser, bought Harrods. Later, in 1985, the Egyptian Mohamed Al-Fayed bought Harrods. In 2010, the store was sold to Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This company invests the wealth of the Qatar royal family. Harrods is also known for their annual Christmas bears which are very popular.