For the first time in its history, Harrods will venture outside the United Kingdom. The British luxury department store is going to open a store in China, in an attempt to serve the country’s large and wealthy middle class.
“Follow the money”
The British retail icon’s first foreign store will be opened next year in Pudong (Shanghai). It focuses exclusively on wealthy private shoppers who will also have access to a bar, a tea room, and exclusive events organised by luxury brands.
According to managing director Michael Ward, Harrods has been investing in China for ten years, but now the company wants to profit from increased customer demand for a more permanent presence in the country. “If you look at all of the reports, they say, quite categorically that all of the growth in the next five years is going to come from Southeast Asia. And is going to come from millennials”, Retail Gazette quotes Ward. “So we’ve got to go after that. It’s very important that you follow the money.”
