82-592: Hanson Trust (1983-1993) Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom. The original store was established in 1862 in Croydon by Joshua Allder. In the second half of the 20th century, this parent store was developed into a chain of department stores across England and Wales. By the turn of the millennium, the flagship store in Croydon was the third-largest department store in
164-636: A management buyout and Richard Shops to Habitat , keeping only the core department store business. In January 1986, Hanson bought SCM , an American chemicals to typewriters business, which included the paper division that was formerly the Allied Paper Corporation . Hanson promptly sold most of the SCM business units and the headquarters building in New York City for a significant profit. Hanson's most significant single purchase
246-526: A "landmark transaction". A spokesman for Mohamed Al-Fayed said "in reaching the decision to retire, [Fayed] wished to ensure that the legacy and traditions that he has built up in Harrods would be continued." Al-Fayed later revealed in an interview that he decided to sell Harrods following the difficulty in getting his dividend approved by the trustees of the Harrods pension fund. Al-Fayed said "I'm here every day, I can't take my profit because I have to take
328-598: A business at 228 Borough High Street in Southwark . He ran this business, variously listed as a draper, mercer, and a haberdasher, until at least 1831. During 1825, the business was listed as 'Harrod and Wicking, Linen Drapers, Retail', but this partnership was dissolved at the end of that year. His first grocery business appears to be as 'Harrod & Co. Grocers' at 163 Upper Whitecross Street , Clerkenwell, E.C.1., in 1832. In 1834, in London's East End , he established
410-466: A change of name of Harrods Limousine Ltd, which had been registered at Companies House since 14 November 2007. The application went un-defended by the respondent and the adjudicator ordered on 16 January 2009 that Harrods Limousine Ltd must change their name within one month. Additionally the respondent was ordered not to cause or permit any steps to be taken to register another company with an offending name which could interfere, due to its similarity, with
492-590: A greater role. In the 1960s there was considerable change in Croydon, particularly the construction of the Whitgift Centre to the north of Allders, into which the store expanded, and the creation of the St George's Walk development. Transport and lifestyle changes led to greater competition with the West End and further improvements were required to modernise the store. The section fronting George Street
574-469: A pension top-up of £636,700). In May 2007, HeidelbergCement announced its intent to purchase Hanson Plc for £11 per share, which valued it at approximately £8 billion. This deal made the combined company the second largest cement and building materials company in the world. The transaction was completed through Heidelberg subsidiary Lehigh UK on 22 August 2007. In December 2014, Heidelberg Cement agreed to sell its Hanson Building Products division to
656-415: A permission of those bloody idiots. I say is this right? Is this logic? Somebody like me? I run a business and I need to take the trustee's permission to take my profit." Al-Fayed was appointed honorary chairman of Harrods, a position he held for six months. The store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m ) site and has over one million square feet ( 90,000 m ) of selling space in over 330 departments making it
738-434: A personal shopping-assistance programme known as "By Appointment"; a watch repair service; a tailor; a dispensing pharmacy; a beauty spa and salon; a barbers shop; Ella Jade Bathroom Planning and Design Service; private events planning and catering; food delivery; a wine steward; bespoke picnic hampers and gift boxes; bespoke cakes; bespoke fragrance formulations; and Bespoke Arcades machines. Up to 300,000 customers visit
820-593: A private company prior to the group's relisting on the London Stock Exchange . Following denial that it was for sale, Harrods was sold to Qatar Holdings , the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar in May 2010. A fortnight previously, chairman of Harrods since 1985, Mohamed Al-Fayed , had stated that "People approach us from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Fair enough. But I put two fingers up to them. It
902-499: A record profit in the process. In short order, a new building was built on the same site, and soon Harrods extended credit for the first time to its best customers, among them Oscar Wilde , Lillie Langtry , Ellen Terry , Charlie Chaplin , Noël Coward , Gertrude Lawrence , Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh , Sigmund Freud , A. A. Milne , and many members of the British Royal Family . Beatrix Potter frequented
SECTION 10
#1732793816205984-475: A series of protests around the over-riding of the local authority's opposition to extend quarrying by the Minister of Climate Change, Julie James. This successful appeal will allow a further 15.7 million tonnes of rock to be extracted for road surfacing and runways. The quarry operations will continue until 2047 and will come within 164 meters of schools and housing as well as destroying a community green space and
1066-464: A shrewdness in business and an understanding of his mostly female customers. Croydon was a growing town, and Allder's business grew with it. In 1870, the shop expanded into 104, 106 and 107 North End, although he had to wait for some 20 years to acquire 105, a bakery. The wealth Allder made allowed him to play a prominent part in the local community, on the Local Board of Health , on the council of
1148-519: A thirty year period, Hanson pursued a principal strategy of raising shareholder value through a series of acquisitions . Several large businesses were purchased throughout the 1980s, such as the United Drapery Stores in 1983, Imperial Tobacco in 1986 and Kidde in 1987. Some of these acquisitions drew criticism and opposition. During 1991, Hanson Plc attempted its largest-yet acquisition of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), but this
1230-426: A thriving retail operation selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruits and vegetables. Harrods rapidly expanded, acquired the adjoining buildings, and employed one hundred people by 1881. However, the store's booming fortunes were reversed in early December 1883, when it burnt to the ground. Remarkably, Charles Harrod fulfilled all of his commitments to his customers to make Christmas deliveries that year—and made
1312-536: A wholesale grocery in Stepney at 4 Cable Street with a special interest in tea. Attempting to capitalise on trade during the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park , in 1849 Harrod took over a small shop in the district of Brompton , on the site of the current store. Beginning in a single room employing two assistants and a messenger boy, Harrod's son Charles Digby Harrod built the business into
1394-657: A wide range of measures to maximise value, including mass redundancies , and therefore attracted opposition and accusations that they were asset strippers . From 1979, the company was successful from the shareholders' point of view and respected during the early 1980s; Hanson (who donated millions of pounds to the Conservatives ) was given a life peerage by Britain's then-Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher , in June 1983. It has been alleged that Hanson benefitted from political favouritism that may have swayed decisions made by
1476-463: A wildlife sanctuary. The appeal report claimed that "The dust assessments concluded that the potential impacts associated with both the continuation of existing activities and the proposed extension would be slight adverse at most." and that "From all that I have seen and read there are no objections or concerns relating to landscape, visual impact, ecology, hydrology, cultural heritage, agricultural land quality impacts" Harrods Harrods
1558-608: Is a British -based building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead . Previously known as Hanson UK , the company has been a subsidiary of the German company HeidelbergCement since August 2007, and was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . Originally trading as Wiles Group ; the company was transformed into Hanson Trust Ltd by James Hanson and Gordon White in 1964. Over
1640-579: Is a British luxury department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London , England. It is owned by Harrods Ltd , a company currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund , the Qatar Investment Authority . The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies, including Harrods Estates , Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods . Recognised as one of
1722-642: Is not for sale. This is not Marks and Spencer or Sainsbury's . It is a special place that gives people pleasure. There is only one Mecca." The sale was concluded in the early hours of 8 May, when Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani came to London to finalise the deal, saying that the acquisition of Harrods would add "much value" to the investment portfolio of Qatar Holdings while his deputy, Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla, called it
SECTION 20
#17327938162051804-672: The County Borough of Croydon for nine years, and in the non-conformist church community. He supported greater rights for his workers, being instrumental in getting local stores closed for a half-day on Wednesdays. Allder died in 1904 leaving a store which had expanded beyond clothing and haberdashery to sell glass and porcelain, among other items. His main residence in Pampisford Road, South Croydon , now houses Regina Coeli RC school, and two cul-de-sacs nearby are named Allder Way and Joshua Close. In 1908 Allder's family sold
1886-522: The Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC). One of the most notable takeovers, at least to the general public, was the acquisition in 1983, of the United Drapery Stores (otherwise known as UDS Group ), which owned many of Britain's most well known high street clothes shops and department stores, including John Collier , Richard Shops and the chain of Allders department stores. To fund this purchase, Hanson broke up UDS and sold John Collier via
1968-830: The Owen Owen group that traded under the Lewis's and Owen Owen names. This included branches in Basingstoke , Coventry , Ilford , Leeds , Oxford , Redditch and Slough . In 1997 Allders acquired the bankrupt Maples furniture brand and seven of its retail outlets. These stores were integrated into the Allders At Home portfolio and brought the brand to town centre locations in Bromley , Chelmsford , Crawley , Kingston upon Thames , Reading , Sutton Coldfield and Watford . The Bromley outlet, in direct competition with
2050-673: The Seasonal Christmas department, jewellery departments and the Food Halls , are well known. Harrods was also a founder of the International Association of Department Stores in 1928, which is still active today, and remained a member until 1935. Franck Chitham, Harrods' president at the time, was president of the Association in 1930. In 1824, at the age of 25, Charles Henry Harrod established
2132-731: The UVW union , which claimed that 483 affected employees were losing up to £5,000 each in tips every year. A surprise protest and roadblock organised by the union outside Harrods during the January sales of 2017 was followed by an announcement that "an improved tronc system" would give 100% of service charges to staff. Twenty female former staff members alleged that during Al Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene, but helped cover up his sexual abuse of young staff members, including multiple rapes or attempted rapes. The first report of abuse arose in 1985 soon after Al Fayed took ownership of
2214-521: The United Kingdom . The chain was broken up and sold after it went into administration in 2005, although the Croydon store continued trading until 2012, having been purchased by Harold Tillman , the then-owner of the Jaeger clothing company. On 17 January 2003, the company closed the store along with the website, and the brand ceased to exist. In 2018 the brand relaunched with a department store in
2296-485: The goodwill of the applicant. Finally, Harrods Limousine Ltd was ordered to pay Harrods' costs for the litigation. Following the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales , and Dodi Fayed , Mohamed Al-Fayed's son, two memorials to the couple commissioned by Al-Fayed were erected inside Harrods. The first, located at the base of the Egyptian Escalator, was unveiled on 12 April 1998, consisting of photographs of
2378-526: The Allders name, the administrators were seeking to sell furniture brands Maples and Waring & Gillow . Allders ceased trading on 17 January 2013. Later that year the Croydon building reopened as "Croydon Village Outlet". In July 2019, Croydon Council took possession of the site as part of the proposed redevelopment of the Centrale and Whitgift Centre shopping malls. Businesses and franchises within
2460-473: The Leeds store being the last to close down on 22 May 2005, with the exception of Croydon. In May 2005 it was announced that the owners of Jaeger would take on the flagship Croydon store and that it would continue to trade as Allders. In the first year of operation the new managing director, Andrew MacKenzie, turned the fortunes of the company around and projected a £1 million gross profit. Significant investment
2542-550: The Town Hall. Croydon Council's partner in this plan was developer Minerva plc . In late 2002 Minerva was part of a new group called Scarlett Retail, named after Terry Green's daughter, that bid for Allders, with Lehman Brothers investment bank and a management team including Terry Green, the former chief executive of Debenhams and BHS . Some felt at the time that Scarlett's bid was based on Minerva's intention to acquire Allders' site for its Park Place project, in order to sell
Allders - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-876: The Village Outlet had to move or close altogether. In 2018 Allders purchased the rights to the Co-op Department Store in Paisley at the Paisley Centre and set up a department store on three floors. In May 2021 it was announced by Allders that the Paisley Store was to close down and a closing down sale began, closing in July 2021 51°22′28″N 0°06′01″W / 51.3744°N 0.1003°W / 51.3744; -0.1003 Heidelberg Materials UK Heidelberg Materials UK
2706-476: The ability to sell back gold to Harrods in the future. Harrods used to provide paid "luggage room" services for storing luggage/ items; however, post COVID they stopped providing this service. Harrods and Mohamed Al-Fayed were criticised for selling real animal fur, provoking regular protests organised outside Harrods. Harrods is the only department store in Britain that has continued to sell fur. Harrods
2788-486: The basis for Winnie-the-Pooh . In December 1926, Agatha Christie , who visited Harrods as a girl, marvelled at the spectacle of the store's Christmas display . The store has also featured in fiction, for example Mr. Bean (played by Rowan Atkinson ) visited Harrods to buy Christmas decorations in the 1992 Mr. Bean episode " Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean ". A chance meeting in London with businessman, Edgar Cohen , eventually led to Charles Harrod selling his interest in
2870-1038: The biggest department store in Europe. The UK's second-biggest shop, Selfridges, Oxford Street , is a little over half the size with 540,000 square feet (50,000 m ) of selling space. By comparison Europe's second-largest department store the KaDeWe in Berlin has a retail space of 650,000 square feet (60,000 m ). The shop's 330 departments offer a wide range of products and services. Products on offer include clothing for women, men, children and infants, electronics, jewellery, sporting gear, bridal trousseau , pet accessories, toys (including Christmas and signature teddy bears), food and drink, health and beauty items, packaged gifts, stationery, housewares, home appliances, furniture, and much more. A representative sample of shop services includes 23 restaurants, serving everything from high tea to tapas to pub food to haute cuisine ;
2952-553: The biggest takeover in British history at that point. In October 1991, Hanson opted to not proceed with the deal. During September 1991, Hanson acquired Beazer , a major British housebuilder, in exchange for $ 609 million. Two years later, it also purchased a portion of the Watt Housing Corporation under a £116 million (£76 million) deal. During the mid-1990s, conglomerates were falling out of favour with
3034-567: The business to J. W. Holdron and F. C. Bearman, owners of stores in Balham and Leytonstone respectively. They developed the store into 50 departments with 500 staff and owned the business until 1921. It then passed to the Lawrence family, under whose control it became a limited company. In 1926, the famous North End facade was erected, uniting the frontage of the Croydon premises for the first time. In 1932 an Arcade from North End to George Street
3116-420: The centre of the ground floor. A new Allders store of 137,000 square feet (12,700 m) opened at Woking in 1992. Allders plc was floated on the stock market in 1993. The growth of the group rapidly accelerated following stock market flotation with the acquisition of existing stores and the building of new ones. This began with the acquisition of Nottingham Co-op's lease on their Broad Marsh Centre store and
3198-579: The centre opened in October 2005. Kroll , the administrators, searched for buyers for the chain or individual stores. Of Allders' 50 stores, only 35 received offers, with rival retailers such as House of Fraser , BHS , Debenhams and Primark said to have expressed an interest. The ten remaining stores, including the Oxford Street branch, began closing-down sales on 5 February and had started to close from March 2005: all had closed by May 2005 with
3280-407: The code and barred from entry include pop star Kylie Minogue , Jason Donovan , Luke Goss , a Scout troop , a woman with a Mohican hair cut , and the entire first team from FC Shakhtar Donetsk who were wearing tracksuits. As of 2023, Harrods takes the following position: "We do not have a specific dress code for entry into the store, including any of our restaurants. However, we do reserve
3362-429: The company focused on building materials. By December 1999, Hanson had become the world's biggest aggregates supplier and the second largest supplier of ready-mixed concrete. In November 1999, Hanson acquired Australian building materials business Pioneer International . In early 2002, Dougal parted ways with Hanson, leaving with a controversially large pay-off (variously reported at between £400,000 and £660,000, plus
Allders - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-454: The development of a chain of stand-alone home furnishing stores. The opening of a second Clover store at Rotherham was succeeded by the development of "At Home with Allders" a concept for new stores in out-of-town retail parks , the first of which opened at Aylesford in Kent in 1994. The Clover stores were both rebranded. In September 1996 Allders purchased a number of department stores from
3526-505: The device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a mahogany and "silver plate-glass" balustrade. Nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to revive them after their 'ordeal'. The department store was acquired by House of Fraser in 1959, which in turn was purchased by the Fayed brothers in 1985. In 1994, Harrods was moved out of the House of Fraser Group to remain
3608-641: The final scene of Unlawful Killing , a film funded by Al-Fayed and directed by Keith Allen . Asma al-Assad , the wife of the President of Syria , Bashar al-Assad , used an alias to shop at Harrods despite economic sanctions imposed by the European Union that froze funds belonging to her and her husband. Harrods has been criticised by Guardian journalist Sali Hughes as "deeply sexist" for making female employees wear six kinds of makeup at all times without requiring this of male employees. Harrods
3690-446: The former Co-op Department Store in the Paisley Centre in Paisley. Allders was opened in 1862 at 102 and 103 North End, Croydon , as a "linen draper and silk mercer" by Joshua Allder (1838–1904) from Walworth , who had served his apprenticeship in Croydon. His shop was diverse, with special offers on silk dresses and also a morning dress section, and departments offering lower-cost items such as buttons and ribbons. This diversity showed
3772-561: The furnishing store of Clover at Kirkstall in Leeds retained their original identities. A new geometric logo of ten orange 'A's arranged in a circle on brown and cream-coloured stationery, bags and carpets appeared across the group, together with the phrase "All that a great store should be". In 1983 the Lyons family sold the UDS Group to Hanson plc and Allders became a flagship company of
3854-559: The group, with Lord Hanson appearing on Allders' roof in TV adverts. Allders expanded with new stores opening in Basildon and Chatham and in many international airports as duty-free concessions. A new 'Fourth Floor' was built on the roof of the Croydon store to house a new Audio and Television Department and two new restaurants as well as a link into the staff areas of London House on Dingwall Avenue. The group's brown, cream and orange livery
3936-417: The hundreds. A timeline of sexual abuse allegations by current and former staff now exists while investigations continue. In 1986, the town of Ōtorohanga , New Zealand, briefly changed its name to "Harrodsville". This was a protest in support of a restaurateur, Henry Harrod of Palmerston North , who was being forced to change the name of his restaurant following the threat of lawsuits from Mohamed Al Fayed,
4018-609: The investment community. Some of the manufacturing businesses were spun off as US Industries in February 1995. In January 1996, Hanson ended its time as a diversified conglomerate by breaking itself up into four separate listed companies: Hanson plc, Imperial Tobacco , The Energy Group and Millennium Chemicals . This restructuring had reportedly cost the group £95 million in professional fees by August 1996. During December 1997, Lord Hanson stepped down as chairman. Led by Andrew Dougal , chief executive from 1997 until 2002,
4100-531: The large C & A building on the south side of Oxford Street in London . The "At Home with Allders" trading name was replaced with "Allders At Home" on conversion of a number of the C&;A stores to an expanded home format. Problems continued, however. In Croydon, there were plans to build a new shopping centre, Park Place , on the store's site and much of the area to the south. A new Allders would be built opposite
4182-632: The legal action and Harrodsville and its shops reverted to their former names. The town's response raised widespread media interest around the world, with the BBC World Service and newspapers in Greece, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada covering the story. On 27 October 2008, in the case of Harrods Ltd v. Harrods Limousine Ltd , the Harrods store applied to the Company Names Tribunal under s.69(1)(b) Companies Act 2006 for
SECTION 50
#17327938162054264-558: The mid-1980s, giving its backing to the successful British Government-backed bidder for the British aerospace firm Westland Helicopters . In mid 1987, the firm acquired the American consumer products group Kidde at a cost of $ 1.7 billion; during October of that year, Black Monday hit and stock valuations plunged, leading to criticism that Hanson had allegedly overpaid for Kidde. In November 1988, Hanson bought Consolidated Gold Fields in exchange for £3.5 billion. The Gold Survey
4346-408: The plot to another retailer, probably John Lewis. The bid was felt by many to be overpriced. Nevertheless, Scarlett paid Tom Hunter an improved price and they landed the company in early 2003 for about £162m ($ 316m). Green became chief executive and set about an overhaul of Allders' image. It was claimed that some of the traditional homeware, haberdashery and clothing for middle-aged, middle-income women
4428-411: The private equity firm Lone Star for £900 million. During 2023, Hanson was reportedly planning the construction of a new carbon capture facility that was aimed at reducing the emissions from their Padeswood cement works . The British government chose Hanson, along with other companies, to present progress plans for carbon reduction solutions. In October 2023, the company announced that it
4510-440: The right to refuse entry to anyone who is not deemed to be appropriately dressed. Sportswear, including trainers, shorts, and tracksuits, are permitted across all areas of the store and restaurants." Harrods was the holder of royal warrants from: In August 2010, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph , chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed revealed that he had burnt Harrods royal warrants , after taking them down in 2000. Harrods had held
4592-462: The royal warrants since 1910. Describing the warrants as a "curse", Al-Fayed claimed that business had tripled since their removal. Prince Philip removed his warrant in January 2000, and the other warrants were removed from Harrods by Al-Fayed in December, pending their five-yearly review. Prince Philip had been banned from Harrods by Al-Fayed. Film of the burning of the warrants in 2009 was shown in
4674-417: The second largest cement and building materials company in the world. In October 2023, the company announced that it was rebranding as Heidelberg Materials . Originally known as Hanson Trust plc, the company was built up by James Hanson, later Lord Hanson , and Gordon White, later Baron White of Hull , who created Hanson Trust out of the former Wiles Group in 1964. Hanson and White were willing to take
4756-535: The shop on peak days, comprising the highest proportion of customers from non-English speaking countries of any department store in London. More than five thousand staff from over fifty different countries work at Harrods. In October 2009, Harrods Bank started selling gold bars and coins that customers could buy "off the shelf". The gold products ranged from 1 g to 12.5 kg , and could be purchased within Harrods Bank. They also offered storage services, as well as
4838-594: The store for £120,000 (equivalent to £16,753,448 in 2023) via a stock market flotation in 1889. The new company was called Harrod's Stores Limited. Sir Alfred James Newton became chairman and Richard Burbidge managing director. Financier William Mendel was appointed to the board in 1891 and he raised funding for many of the business expansion plans. Richard Burbidge was succeeded in 1917 by his son Woodman Burbidge and he in turn by his son Richard in 1935. On 16 November 1898, Harrods debuted England's first "moving staircase" ( escalator ) in their Brompton Road stores;
4920-515: The store from the age of 17. First published in 1902, her children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit , was soon on sale in Harrods, accompanied by the world's first licensed character , a Peter Rabbit soft toy (Peter and toys of other Potter characters appeared in Harrods catalogues from 1910). In 1921, Milne bought the 18-inch Alpha Farnell teddy bear from the store for his son Christopher Robin Milne who would name it Edward, then Winnie, becoming
5002-463: The store, when a 15-year-old girl alleged she had been inappropriately touched by him. This was dismissed by the Crown prosecution service when Al fayed denied the claim. Further female staff and ex-staff members have subsequently come forward to add their names to the growing list of workers reportedly abused by Al Fayed and his brother Salah, now being accused of similar activity, with allegations now in
SECTION 60
#17327938162055084-585: The stores but no interest was found in taking on the company as a whole and it was placed in administration on 26 January 2005. It was revealed that there was a pensions deficit of £15 million. 130 of the staff at the Croydon headquarters were laid off, including Green and other senior managers. An under-construction store at the Drake Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth was never opened and was split into stores for Next and Primark when
5166-480: The then owner of Harrods department store. As a show of solidarity for Henry Harrod, and in anticipation of actions against other similar-sounding businesses, it was proposed that every business in Ōtorohanga change its name to "Harrods". With the support of the District Council, Ōtorohanga temporarily changed the town's name to Harrodsville. After being lampooned in the British tabloids, Al Fayed dropped
5248-465: The town's main Allders store, was soon disposed of. The Kingston store, offering a range focussed solely on furniture, beds and carpets, struggled to compete with Bentalls and John Lewis . This competition in the town and the frontage of the store being obscured for some time whilst work on the Kingston Bridge was carried out led to the store's closure within two years. A second Kingston store
5330-401: The two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as what is described as an engagement ring Dodi purchased the day before they died. The second memorial, unveiled in 2005 and located by the escalator at door three is entitled Innocent Victims , a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross,
5412-454: The world's leading department stores, it is visited by 15 million people per year. The store occupies a 5-acre (2 ha) site and has 330 departments covering 1.1 million sq ft (100,000 m ) of retail space. It is one of the largest and most famous department stores in the world. The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique , which is Latin for "all things for all people, everywhere". Several of its departments, including
5494-664: Was by this time a major retail centre. Allders' immediate competitor, Kennards, was renamed Debenhams in 1973, along with many other Debenhams stores. To compete with the central buying and advertising of Debenhams and other larger groups, the department stores owned by UDS were all gradually renamed Allders. This process began with Shinners of Sutton in 1979 and later Hinds of Eltham , Medhursts of Bromley , James Page of Camberley , Mackross of Cardiff, Willis Ludlow of Hull and Landport Drapery Bazaar (LDB) in Portsmouth . Only Arding & Hobbs at Clapham Junction in London and
5576-476: Was completed, proving a very popular addition to the store. An extension to the restaurant was opened in the same year. The building suffered considerable damage in World War II but never closed. Improvements during the 1950s included the takeover of a cinema auditorium as the gift department and the installation of Croydon's first escalators, built by J & E Hall , in 1954. By 1958, the Lawrence family
5658-574: Was criticised by members of the Black community after the Daily Telegraph reported that Harrods staff told a black woman that she would not be employed unless she chemically straightened her hair, stating that her natural hair style was "unprofessional". Harrods' restaurants and cafes included a 12.5% discretionary service charge on customers' bills, but failed to share the full proceeds with kitchen and service staff. Several employees joined
5740-527: Was forced to sell as a result of death duties incurred after the death of Daniel Arthur Lawrence, managing director. The store was acquired by Jack & Bernard Lyons' United Drapery Stores (UDS), owners of Richard Shops , John Collier , Alexandre Tailors and several department stores. The son of D. A. Lawrence, S. John Lawrence, was kept on by UDS as managing director. Allders continued to expand, reaching £1 million turnover in 1958 and £3 million by 1963. Fashion's importance declined, with household items taking
5822-539: Was held by the Whitgift Foundation . Development plans by Minerva for a 1.08 million sq.ft shopping centre were complicated by uncertainty over its tenancy, and competition from the new 1.615 million sq.ft Westfield development at White City , and the 1.3 million sq.ft shopping development at Bluewater to the east of London. In December 2011, Allders director Max Menon was named as new chairman of Croydon Business Improvement District. Allders of Croydon
5904-498: Was hotly contested and ultimately unsuccessful. By the start of the 1990s, Hanson Plc had become a sizable conglomerate and one of the largest firms based in Britain. However, amid negative perceptions of the conglomerate model, the company was reorganised into four separate listed firms during the mid 1990s, these being: Hanson plc, Imperial Tobacco , The Energy Group and Millennium Chemicals . In 2007, HeidelbergCement purchased Hanson Plc in exchange for £8 billion to create
5986-490: Was later opened in the former C & A building, offering a broader range of merchandise for the home. Shares in Allders crashed in 1998 after disappointing sales and difficulties integrating the Maples furniture group. Nevertheless, it continued a policy of expansion, acquiring the premises of the former C & A stores at Guildford , Kingston upon Thames , Leicester , Sheffield (Meadowhall) , and York in 2000 and later
6068-426: Was made to attract back to the store its Croydon audience. It was the only Allders store to survive the 2005 administration. In April 2006 it was announced that Allders had secured an extension to their lease through to 2008. The land and store that Allders leased had regular break clauses to the benefit of the "virtual freehold leaseholder" held by Minerva plc subsidiary companies for 250 years. The freehold interest
6150-511: Was placed into administration on 15 June 2012. It was blamed on the "tough market conditions of the retail sector" at the time. The administrators Duff & Phelps failed in their search for a new investor and Allders finally closed down after the last day of trading on 22 September 2012. It was reported in Scotland on Sunday that Metis, a Glasgow-based intellectual property firm were looking to sell brands that were owned by Allders. Along with
6232-418: Was probably its takeover of Imperial Tobacco Group in 1986. Hanson paid £2.5 billion for the group then undertook a major reorganisation; divestitures netted £2.3 billion, leaving Hanson with the hugely profitable tobacco business for "next to nothing." Hanson sold off the food brand, Golden Wonder , to Dalgety plc in 1986. Hanson was also involved in the politically charged Westland affair of
6314-614: Was rebranding as Heidelberg Materials , as part as a branding rationalisation by its parent company. The principal markets of Heidelberg Materials UK are the major conurbations in England and Wales and the central belt of Scotland . The company supplies heavy building materials such as ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and cement to the UK construction industry. In March 2024, residents of Glyncoch, near Pontypridd in South Wales, started
6396-411: Was rebuilt and expanded, retaining a Victorian facade, alongside a new addition. Rebuilding works continued into Dingwall Avenue and by 1976 Allders had 1,700 staff and 500,000 square feet (46,000 m) of floor space. It was a Croydon landmark and became the third-largest department store in the UK, after Harrods and Selfridges . It had the largest carpet department in Europe, amongst other claims. Croydon
6478-404: Was reduced, with a new emphasis on young fashion and beauty products, though this was denied by Terry Green. In September 2004, Minerva announced that Allders had made a loss of £22.6m for the year to 30 June 2004, blaming the speed of the transformation of the business. In December 2004, it announced the business was up for sale. There was some early interest that Primark was to purchase some of
6560-496: Was replaced with a scheme of light blue and gold lettering on a dark blue background. In 1989 a management buyout saw the international arm spun off as a separate company. There was continued upheaval in Croydon with the complete refurbishment of the Whitgift Centre and of parts of the store. The vast carpet department was contracted to a secondary location allowing for the creation of a new perfumery and cosmetics hall at
6642-670: Was sharply criticised in 2004 by the Hindu community for marketing a line of feminine underwear (designed by Roberto Cavalli ) which featured the images of Indian goddesses. The line was eventually withdrawn and formal apologies were made. In 1989, Harrods introduced a dress code for customers. The store turned away people whose dress is not in compliance with the code. Forbidden items include cycling shorts; high-cut shorts, Bermuda or beach shorts; swimwear; athletic singlets; flip flops or thong sandals; bare feet; bare midriff; or wearing dirty or unkempt clothing. Patrons found not in compliance with
6724-502: Was taken on by a new company, now known as GFMS . During mid 1991, the company attempted to acquire Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), a business that was once viewed by many in Britain as the nation's leading company but was by then in decline. Hanson had acquired a 2.8 per cent stake in the company as part of its hostile takeover attempt, which ICI's management team chose to oppose. The envisioned acquisition became hotly contested and controversial, partially as it would have been
#204795