Harrods marking 175th anniversary with year-long celebration

Luxury department store Harrods in Knightsbridge, London, is celebrating its 175th anniversary with a year-long activation featuring creative partnerships, in-store concepts and commemorative collaborations to showcase the store’s heritage.

Following Burberry transforming Harrods “Knight Blue,” this month, the department store will host a glittering light show every night at 8 pm to celebrate its iconic façade with 3,890 LED lights.

In Harrods exhibition windows on the ground floor of the store, customers can discover The Harrods Lounge, a dedicated concierge space in-store to help customers. It will also host customer photo opportunity moments, including a life-sized Harrods bear as well as competitions.

From April 1 to 7, the Lounge will host the first ever ‘Harrods Design-A-Bear Studio,’ complete with a competition for customers to design a bear that could be made into a Harrods Bear sold in Harrods’ store.

Harrods has also created a special anniversary collection of bears, teaming up with luxury brands and designers, including Burberry, Valentino and Charlotte Tilbury, to put their own spin on the iconic teddy. The collaborative bears will be limited-edition and only 175 will be made of each one. More designer bear collaborations will be revealed throughout the year, the retailer said.

Throughout the 12-month-long celebration, Harrods will also unveil more than 40 exclusive products, all developed in homage to the Harrods legacy. In March, Moet & Chandon will release a limited edition, made-to-order champagne bottle designed by Dimitry Hlinka and inspired by the iconic chandelier in the brand’s champagne bar on the ground floor.

In May, there will see the first of three 175-inspired tea collections in the food hall, and fragrances such as Penhaligon’s Mr Harrods, Guerlain’s Royal Extract II and Ex Nihilio’s Brompton Immortals will all be reimagined into fine tea blends, to celebrate a proud Harrods history of tea and creativity.

In addition, Harrods will also launch an exclusive fragrance with perfumery house Maison Francis Kurkdjan called Reflets de Ambre, in tribute to the glowing lights of Harrods on Brompton Road. The fragrance will launch as a global exclusive, only available at Harrods later this year.

Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, said in a statement: “Harrods is in the business of celebrating the best of luxury, and it felt fitting to take a moment to celebrate our own momentous anniversary.

“We want to mark the occasion by celebrating all that is wonderful and unique about the Harrods brand – our place in British culture and history, our unparalleled brand partnerships, and our relationships with our customers, while also looking firmly forward. Harrods has been celebrating the exceptional for 175 years, and we look forward to being at the epicentre of luxury for another 175 years to come.”

Harrods opened in 1849 as a tea merchant and is home to over 3,000 brands across 300 departments. The store has 1.1 million square feet of floor space and employs more than 4,000 people.