London department store Harrods has been sold by its owner Mohammed Al Fayed to the Qatari royal family for £1.5bn. Recognised for its celebrity-endorsed sales, food hall and signature green bags, Harrods is one of the world's largest and most famous department stores. With more than a million square feet (90,000 m2) of space, Harrords sells luxury items across seven floors and 330 departments. But its motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things for All People, Everywhere - and the store attracts 15 million customers each year. The Knightsbridge store was established in 1849 by Charles Henry Harrod. Beginning in a single room and employing two assistants and a messenger boy, the shop mainly sold tea and groceries. It steadily expanded, and by 1880 was a thriving department store, offering everything from medicines and perfumes to clothing and food and attracting wealthy customers. Its expansion suffered a knock in 1883 when a fire destroyed the shop. This did not halt the owners however, who duly rebuilt the store, with the help of architect Charles William Stephens, into what it is today. Known for its grandeur, when the store reopened it had a palatial style, featuring a frontage clad in terracotta tiles adorned with cherubs, swiling Art Nouveau windows and it was topped with a baroque-style dome. It also featured the world's first escalator in 1898. Harrods became a public company in 1889 and by the 1890s it had established a bank and estate agency. During the World War II, the store transformed from selling luxury goods to making uniforms, parachutes and parts for Lancaster bombers. In 1959, High Street department store group House of Fraser bought Harrods.
Bitter feud In 1985 the store returned to private ownership when Mr Al Fayed and his brother Ali bought House of Fraser for £615m, snatching it from mining conglomerate Lonrho. The takeover bid was bitterly fraught as Mr Al Fayed had previously served on Lonrho's board but left nine months later after a disagreement. Lonrho's director, the late Tiny Rowland, took his campaign against the takeover to the Department of Trade who duly held an inquiry. The subsequent report, issued in 1990, concluded that the Al Fayeds had lied about their background and their wealth. "We are satisfied that the image they created between November 1984 and March 1985 of their wealthy Egyptian ancestors was completely bogus." The public feud between the businessmen appeared to reach reconciliation in 1993 however Mr Rowland later accused Mr Al Fayed of breaking into a safety deposit box held at the store. This dispute was later settled with Mr Rowland's wife after his death. The store has twice experienced bomb attacks by the IRA. In 1983, six people were killed and 75 injured after a car exploded outside while in 1993, four were injured when a bomb was placed in a litter bin outside the store.
Dress code The store controversially introduced a dress code in 1989 which included a ban on wearing high-cut, Bermuda or beach shorts; swimwear; cycling shorts and flip flops or thong sandels. Bare midriffs or bare feet as well as dirty or unkempt clothing are also not allowed. In 1994, the Al Fayed brothers let go of House of Fraser in a stock market flotation, keeping only Harrods. By 2000, the Harrods empire expanded to include outlet at airports and on the QE2 cruise ship. But in the same year, Mr Al Fayed decided to not renew his royal warrants, saying that since neither the Queen, nor Prince Charles had shopped in Harrods for several years, continuing to display the Royal Crescent would be "totally misleading and hypocritical". Following the death of his son, Dodi, and Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in August 1997, the Harrods boss made a series of allegations about the circumstances. Today, the company employs about 4,000 staff. The sale includes all parts of the group, such as Harrods Estates and the charter aircraft service Air Harrods.
