[0:03]15 things you didn't know about Harrods. Welcome to Alux.com. The place where future billionaires come to get inspired. Hello again Aluxers, and thank you for joining us for yet another fantastic fact-filled video. Here at Alux, our number one content commitment is to bring our wonderful viewers information and insights into all of the very best and best things in life from luxury resorts to billionaire celebrities to the special places that the world's elite like to shop. It would be fair to say that of all the luxury boutiques and stores in the world, the name Harrods rings out loud and clear as one of the greatest. Located on the famous Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, Harrods is a luxury department store, whose name is known the entire world over. It was established back in 1849 by the 25-year-old Charles Henry Harrod, a humble East End tea salesman and grocer. Originally a store that sold good quality goods for low prices, as London became more prosperous, so did Harrod's business plan. And towards the end of the 19th century, the store was on its way to becoming the pinnacle of luxury living it is today. Harrods was famously purchased by the Fayed brothers in 1985, who then sold it to the state of Qatar in 2010. Do you want to gain some further insight in the wonderful world of Harrods? With no further ado, allow us to present you with 15 things you didn't know about Harrods. Number one. Harrods is not just a high-class department store. The Harrods Group isn't just a retailer. Harrods is the largest department store in Europe, with a selling space of more than 1 million square feet, which is 90,000 square meters, with more than 337 separate departments, which include 32 restaurants. However, the Harrods brand name is applied to Harrods Bank, Harrods Aviation, and Harrods estates. Number two. Harrod's annual turnover is more than 950 million. It was reported that the group's turnover of 2016 was in excess of 1.4 billion pounds, which is more than 1.8 billion dollars.
[2:22]This was the seventh year in a row that Harrods has posted increased year-on-year profits with pre-tax profits up to 4% from 177.2 million dollars to 210.4. Obviously, the investment of the reputed 2.5 billion dollars that Carter Holdings paid for the group is paying back. Number three. The store receives 100,000 visitors each day. Not only is Harrods a popular store, it's also a bucket list destination for London tourists. And because of this, the store sees an average of 100,000 visitors through its doors every single day. If you think that's impressive, then wait until you hear how many feet walk the famous aisles during holiday shopping months. It's estimated that over the Christmas period, Harrods can experience as many as 300,000 visitors every day. That is equivalent to the entire population of the country of Iceland. Overall, 15 million shoppers walk the aisles every year. Number four. Harrods is located in one of the most prestigious areas of London. Harrods Knightsbridge location is a very posh and wealthy area in London, and it is said that the three-mile square radius of Kensington and Knightsbridge that surround that store is home to approximately 60% of Harrods regular customers. This area, full of incredibly rich families, is known locally as the Tra triangle. And it's inhabitants make up more than half of the luxury stores regular customers. Imagine being so wealthy that you can afford to do your weekly food shop at Harrods. Number five. The most expensive item ever bought at Harrods is a yacht. The luxury yacht, Project Mars, was created by Vincinterry Yachts and H2 yacht design, and she'd be manned by a 34 strong crew. This amazing vessel boasts a children's quarter, private gym, private beach club, Jacuzzi, VIP room for extra private partying, and a lavish horseshoe-shaped exterior lounge.
[4:16]And the price for such an awe-inspiring luxury boat, a cool 165 million dollars. Number six. Harrods has a long-standing association with exotic animals. For one reason or another, Harrods has become known for welcoming a weird and wonderful array of animals through its famous doors. Iconic clay right, Noel Coward, once bought a pet alligator there as a Christmas gift. And once a vicious cobra was used to guard against a pair of diamond and sapphire encrusted sandals worth 62,000 dollars. US President Ronald Reagan was gifted a baby elephant that was bought at Harrods. And the store even had a zoo area in 1917 that began with goats and chickens, but soon branched out into more exotic animals. Number seven. The Harrod's mission statement is an ambitious motto. The Harrod's motto is omnia omnibus ubique, which translated from its original Latin means, all things for all people everywhere. This model reflects the goal of Harrods to be able to provide customers with absolutely everything that they could ever want. And it's hard to argue against their ambition with a current tally of 330 separate departments that offer the very best fashions, to the very best gadgets, to the very best food. Number eight. Harrods has famous green men. Anybody who has visited Harrods before will be familiar with the iconic green men. Officially referred to as carriage attendance. These green dressed workers act as the ultimate customer service companions for store visitors, opening doors, helping to carry bags, greeting VIPs with extra care and attention. It is Harrods custom to only employ seven dedicated green men at a time. And it's these little touches that make the shopping experience like none other. Number nine. The store is illuminated all year round. Unlike other department stores that just decorate their exterior for Christmas, Harrods took the decision in 1959 to begin lighting up the store's facade every single night as soon as the sun goes down. Passers by cannot fail to see the store shining in the moonlight with the help of 12,000 bulbs all the way across its outer walls. Every single one of these bulbs is checked on a regular basis to ensure that there are no dark spots across this facade. Only the best will do for Harrods. Number ten. One of the store's owners was Mohamed Al-Fayed. Arguably Harrods' most memorable and famous owner of the years has been Mohamed Al-Fayed, who bought the store in 1985 together with his brother, Ali. Al-Fayed became famous in the British press for putting his own personal touches on the store, including the Egyptian room, which features busts of himself and of his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales, who were a couple when they were both tragically killed in a car accident in Paris in 1977. These busts were not universally popular, but eventually became staples of the Harrods experience. Al-Fayed was also extremely proud of his Egyptian heritage, and you can find out much more about this country in our dedicated video. Just click in the top right hand corner to watch 15 things you didn't know about Egypt. Number eleven. Harrods installed the first escalator in England. Always the kind of store to do anything before anyone else. On November 16th of 1898, Harrods debuted the first moving staircase in the whole of England. Though, of course, escalators are commonplace in all department stores today. This move was seen as the absolute height of technology and class at the turn of the century. And the presence of the moving staircase was just another feather in the store's cap in comparison to others, like Selfridges. Number 12. Harrods was home to the original Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh is a fictional character beloved by millions of children and adults across the world. But did you know that the original bear came from Harrods? Author A A Milne was shopping at the store when he came across a wonderful bear soft toy in the toy department. He bought the bear for his son Christopher Robin, and the rest, as they say, is history. Number 13. Its status as a luxury icon was challenged by a small town in New Zealand. In 1986, Otorohanga, a small town of the North Island of New Zealand, changed his name to Harrodsville. Things went further when local businessman Henry Harrod changed his restaurant's name to Harrods Family Restaurant. Harrods owner at the time, Mohamed Al-Fayed, was unhappy with the changes and issued legal threats. Harrodsville's answer was to change the name of every one of its business enterprise to include the name of Harrods. Al-Fayed never carried through his threat of legal action. Number 14. There was a wager between Harrods and Selfridges. Selfridges is another iconic department store among London's elite. But did you know that the two stores competed in a famous bet in the early 1900s? Bitter business rivals at the beginning to the century, Harry Gordon Selfridge, full of bravado proposed a bet to Harrods managing director over which store would make a bigger profit in 1917. Unsurprisingly, Harrods came out on top, and as a forfeit, Mr. Selfridge had a silver replica of the Harrods store commissioned, which still sits proudly on the lower ground floor of the Selfridge's to this day. Number 15. You have to comply with a dress code if you want to shop in Harrods. In 1989, Harrods introduced a dress code for everybody who was planning on making a trip to the store. The visitor's guidelines state that anyone wanting to enter the store must refrain from wearing clothing which may reveal intimate parts of the body, or which portrays offensive picture of writing, refrain from wearing crash helmets in the store, and carry small rucksacks in hand rather than on the back or shoulder. And that concludes today's video about the wonderful world of luxury London shopping destination Harrods. Have you been lucky enough to visit the store? If so, what did you buy? Let us know down in the comments. And here is one bonus fact for all of you Aluxers who have stayed with us right through to the end. Thank you. Number 16. Harrods is paradise for shoe lovers. If you love shoes, then Heaven exists, and it's on the fifth floor of Harrods. The entire floor is dedicated to designer shoes from every single brand and name you can think of, with the huge department sprawling across more than 90,000 square meters of prime Harrods store space. Thank you for spending some time with us Aluxers. Make sure to like and subscribe so you never miss another video. We also handpick these videos, which we recommend you watch next. You can talk to us on social media or ask us questions on our website at Alux.com. Thank you for being an Aluxer.
