LONDON – The grande retail dame Harrods is marking 175 years in business with an exclusive fragrance, designer bears, and a lineup of events and partnerships across all of its product categories.
The anniversary theme is “Celebrating 175 Years of Exceptional” and among the highlights is the launch of a fragrance by Maison Francis Kurkdjian called Reflets de Ambre, in tribute to the glowing lights of Harrods’ Brompton Road facade. The fragrance will launch as a global exclusive later this year.
The celebrations will begin next week, with Harrods‘ new LED light installation on the store’s facade taking center stage.
Every evening at 8 p.m. there will be a light show on the facade, which has been fitted with a total of 3,890 LED lights. As reported, the lights are more colorful, versatile and energy-efficient than the previous ones.
As reported, Harrods partnered with L’Observatoire International, which has worked on a variety of historic buildings around the world, on the LED project.
It involved cleaning of the terracotta facade and general repair and maintenance works, and was fully completed in January, in time to turn the facade Burberry blue for the brand’s outdoorsy-themed store takeover.
Part of the Harrods x Burberry takeover, which took place in February.
Jamie Stoker/WWD
As the anniversary year rolls forward, there will also be a new Harrods Lounge on the ground floor, a dedicated concierge space aimed at helping customers discover what’s happening across the store.
The lounge will host customer photo-op moments, and from April 1 to 7 it will also house the first Harrods Design-A-Bear Studio. There will be a competition for customers to design a Harrods bear that could eventually be sold at the store.
Harrods has also created a special anniversary collection of bears, and tapped a few luxury brands and designers, including Burberry, Valentino and Charlotte Tilbury, to put their signature spin on the cuddly toy.
The designer bears will come as a limited-edition, with 175 of each available. More designer-bear collaborations will be revealed throughout the year, the store said.
The store is also planning hi-tech window displays with digital screens highlighting the “world” of Harrods, showcasing the architecture, people and characters who reside within it.
Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, said the aim is to “celebrate all that is wonderful and unique about the Harrods brand — our place in British culture and history, brand partnerships and relationships with our customers, while also looking firmly forward.”
Harrods also plans to unveil more than 40 exclusive products. It has worked with Moët & Chandon and also created a host of new tea collections with some blends inspired by Penhaligon’s, Guerlain and Ex Nihilio fragrances.
Harrods opened in 1849 as a tea merchant and is home to more than 3,000 brands across 300 departments. The store boasts 24 restaurants and employs more than 4,000 people.
