Following the Government's announcement about the reopening of non-essential retail, Harrods has announced its plans for reopening, which include the opening of an outlet store in Westfield London.
The Harrods Knightsbridge store will reopen on 15 June, having temporarily closed its doors amid the outbreak in March. Meanwhile, the new two-storey Harrods Outlet, based at Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush, will open in July.
Harrods said the new store will help to prevent overcrowding and better enable social distancing when its summer sale starts. The store has been designed to support social distancing, allowing more space for customers, and enabling a wider selection of new-season product in its Knightsbridge store.
The new Outlet store will stock a selection of Harrods' discounted ranges, which will also be available online.
When Harrods Knightsbridge store reopens, the luxury retailer has said that there will be significant social distancing measures in place to ensure the absolute safety of colleagues and customers. These new measures include: footfall monitoring technology to limit capacity in-store and better enable social distancing; clear signage to help to safely direct customers and employees around the store; specific doors to be designated for entering and exiting the building; an enhanced cleaning programme, including hand sanitiser stations established across the store.
Michael Ward, MD at Harrods, said: "Closing our store was a heart-breaking decision for everyone at Harrods, and we instinctively began to look ahead to reopening, poised and ready to welcome customers back as soon as we feasibly could.
“We are delighted to reopen our iconic store on 15 June. While we will undoubtedly be operating in a hugely changed environment, we are optimistic about the future.
“The opening of Harrods – a building that has stood in central London for over 170 years – is important for our long-term stability as a business, but also an optimistic step in the wider reopening of London.
“We are excited to welcome back our customers and colleagues, as well as support the local London and British economy get back on its feet.”
While closed, its rainbow window creative demonstrated solidarity with its local London community. This rainbow creative will be updated to a bold eruption of a rainbow prism, symbolising optimism in better days ahead.
