Reading the ads for the January sales brought to mind the great pilgrimage that takes place in London every January when people from all over the country flock to Har-rods. At least once in a lifetime even the most parsimonious person makes a purchase at Harrods. How else to lay hands on one of those green and gold plastic carrier bags which, for the rest of its life, wraps the meanest contents in a stylish package.
The world's greatest department store began life as a grocery store on Brompton Road in London. When Henry Charles Harrod took it over in 1849. He had two assistants and enjoyed a weekly income of 20 pounds. None of his customers then could have imagined how lustrous the name would become.
The Great Exhibition of 1851 brought the Crystal Palace to Hyde Park and attracted visitors and builders. The solid, prosperous terraces they built were inhabited by equally solid, prosperous householders. They and their servants all ate well, and Harrods prospered.
In 1867 Henry's son, Charles Digby Harrod, expanded his lines of business to include patent medicines, perfume and stationery. The premises were extended into adjoining shops and the back garden.
Another significant item was the extension of credit to fashionable inhabitants of the quarter. The present retail palace was erected in 1901. To the tourist, Harrods is as much London as the Tower or Big Ben. It is a Buckingham Palace in which the customer is king. It is a British Museum in which all exhibits are for sale.
As an institution as well as a shop it has a motto: Omnia, Omnibus, Ubique - "Everything for Everyone Everywhere." Occasionally people play the game of trying to stump Harrods. A white ele-phant? Certainly, the pet department will procure one. Two croissants, delivered? Just such an order is delivered daily to a certain London address. Liveried vans deliver free within a 30-mile radius.
Just as croissants are sent to Brunei and even France, kippers have been delivered to Texas, bread rolls to New York, sausages to Antibes. The great flutist James Galway asks visitors to stop by on the way to Heathrow and pick up a pork pie.
Everything is available to Everyone in 215 departments, from the most substantial consumer durable staples to the most frivolous fashion items. The Queen does her Christmas shopping at Harrods (at least she did in my time). About 150,000 other people also have accounts there, and while export orders are responsible for some 40 million pounds of the annual income, the total for the year ending last January was 190 million pounds.
A daily average of 30,000 customers find their way on the 15 1/2 acres of sales floor and are served by 2,000 sales staff (out of a total of 4,000 employees).
At Christmas and January sales the sales staff doubles to 4,000. Half the nice girls you might meet have done time working at Harrods. The January Har-rods sale is an institution that causes traffic jams to back up to Hyde Park Corner. For some it is the one buying spree of the year. Although few contemplate spending thousands on some bauble, most will spend a little in the Food Halls, which also account for more than 20 million pounds of income in a year.
Situated on the marble ground floor, you can hardly miss the tempting chocolates, displayed like gems in cabinets. If you manage to sweep past that area without buying, there is the Meat Hall, perhaps the only butcher shop in the world which non-vegetarians describe as a basilica to the art of tile and mosaic. The ceilings above the shoppers are painted with gilded birds. The fittings are marble and tile.
Famous shoppers have dated from the time of Lillie Langtry and Ellen Terry. An account at Harrods is considered the birthright of upper-class Englishwomen. But there used to be bread lines at Harrods! That is something of a joke, as people lined up, but it proves the break is worth waiting for.
Whatever one's station in life, the bus passes the entrance. Arrive in the limousine, and a liveried commission-aire stands read to open the door to allow one to enter this cross between a luxury ocean liner and an Oriental bazaar.
At least 350,00 people queued up outside Harrods for the January sales. "Queuing" means standing in line in an orderly fashion, patiently, good-humoredly taking your turn. According to the latest reports, it appears this very British tradition is being threatened by pushy foreigners. Ah, what is the world coming to?
This queuing is a leftover from wartime, when people would stand in line for anything - which might turn out to be tomatoes, oranges or even (the height of glory) a banana.
The story is told of a lady who, rounding the corner and seeing a long line, asked hopefully, "What are you queuing for?" "The Tales of Hoff-mann," she was told. To which she replied, "My husband ain't fussy, he'll eat anything!" and promptly got in line!
I hope you secured many bargains at our local sales.
TTFN
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