Harrods announces more 175th anniversary celebrations

Luxury London department store Harrods kicked off its 175th anniversary celebrations with its Burberry link-up last month and is continuing to mark the birthday in March (and for the rest of the year) with special activations and products.

Features include a “spectacular” presentation on its façade, complete with flags, a light show, special window displays, anniversary commemorative products, events and experiences.

Through to December, it’s presenting “a campaign of meaningful moments, encompassing the most iconic elements of the Harrods brand – from its famous Harrods bears to its iconic façade, its exceptional service to exclusive commemorative collaboration; all culminating in a showstopping Christmas”.

So what does that all mean in practice? From next week, every evening at 20:00, a light-show will illuminate the Knightsbridge sky via the store’s exterior lights. The lighting system recently had a “dramatic overhaul”, replacing the entire system (3,890 lights) with more energy efficient LED bulbs, making them 80% more energy efficient.

Following Burberry’s British celebration in Harrods in February, which was the anniversary’s “commencement moment”, March will see a less-brand-specific celebration that’s more about the store itself. In the Exhibition Windows on the Ground Floor of the store, will be The Harrods Lounge. It’s a dedicated concierge space in-store “purposed to helping customers find out more about what’s happening across the store — from finding the best places to eat, what events to RSVP to, where to find the greatest gift and how to make the most of points and perks from Harrods Rewards”. 

It will host customer photo-opportunity moments, a life sized Harrods bear as well as competitions.

Then in the first week of April, the retailer 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 the store.

In fact, the Harrods bears take “centre stage” throughout the anniversary, with a new collection of them, created in celebration of various Harrods milestones, dropping throughout the year in collaboration with “some of the world’s most sought-after luxury brands”.

There’s already been a limited edition Burberry collaboration bear, with only 175 available, and other branded bears are available from Valentino this month with more to come. It’s not just about fashion either with beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury also set to create one.

The Food Hall will also see a beauty link with collectible teas (Harrods began as a retailer selling tea), inspired by the worldwide exclusive scents that can be found in Harrods Perfumery departments. Fragrance 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 175-year history of tea and creativity”.

Harrods is also presenting a global exclusive fragrance with perfumery house, Maison Francis Kurkdjan. The scent, named Reflets de Ambre, in tribute to the lights of Harrods on Brompton Road, will launch as an exclusive, only available at the store in 2024.