Harrods sales rise despite tourist shopping handicap

Turnover at luxury London department store Harrods hit nearly £900 million last year as international shoppers returned, despite the continued frustration of the non-availability of VAT-free shopping for such tourists.

The firm’s accounts filing at Companies House showed revenues were up 8% in the 53 weeks to 3 February this year, hitting £898.4 million.

That’s the highest ever number for the store and puts it less than £2 million away from the magic £900 million figure.

The 175-year-old location is the star turn in the wider Harrods business that’s been owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for some years and is the biggest department store in London. 

Its operating profit was up slightly from £158.4 million to £162.9 million. But pre-tax profit fell to £111.5 million after a pension fund deal that resulted in a multi-million-pound writedown.

The Harrods flagship store is a major tourist attraction in the upscale Knightsbridge neighbourhood and still attracts high-spending local and global visitors, despite that VAT-free shopping issue.

A spokeswoman highlighted “a year of good financial performance, reflected in our sustained and robust growth that reaffirms our leading position in luxury retail”.

She added that the increase also reflected investment in the flagship but said that current market conditions remain challenging.

Its Qatari owners banked a dividend of £180 million via the retailer’s holding company, Harrods Group (Holding Ltd).

The wider group includes Harrods Beauty, Harrods Aviation, Harrods Estates and Harrods China businesses, and sales there were up 8.2% to £1.07 billion.