Founded in 1934 by Charles Henry Harrod, Harrods is one of the world’s foremost luxury department stores. After nearly 200 years in business, Harrods is now owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and employs over 5,000 people around the globe. The famous store is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in London.

Harrods is the biggest shop of its sort in the UK. It covers an impressive 4.5 acres of land and has over a million square feet of shopping space. This is the only department store they have, but Harrods also has its brand all over the globe, with ventures like Harrods Aviation, Air Harrods, Harrods Estates, Harrods Bank, and more.

One of the things the original owner Charles Henry tried to convey was a sense of pride in everything Harrods sold. Since the store first opened up its doors to the public, it earned a reputation for excellent quality of goods and services, and their customers-first mentality helped not only the store to grow in fame, but also the entire Harrods brand.

Charles Henry Harrod didn’t set out on a mission to open such a lavish boutique. In fact, his original Harrods shop on London’s East End dealt with wholesale grocery items and specialized in tea. It wasn’t until 1840 that Harrod moved to the Knightsbridge district and opened up a small shop. He wanted to escape the impoverished and crime-laden streets and capitalize on trade.

Charles Henry was somewhat modest in his approach, although he would lay the foundation for the excellent customer service. With only two assistants and a messenger boy at the original store, it was Charles’ son, Charles Digby Harrod, who took the family business to the next level and started selling high-end goods like perfumes, fruits, medicine and other lavish items for the times.

By 1880, Harrods was one of the biggest employers in the area, with over 100 people on the staff. However, as soon as business started to pick up, the store suffered a massive fire and all but burned to the ground in 1883. Instead of packing up the business, Harrod scored big points with the customers by honoring their Christmas deliveries.

This move really kept Harrods going through financial turmoil. Soon after, a new shop went up on the same site, and Harrods started to show more loyalty to their customers by allowing a credit line. It became one of the most-shopped boutiques by royalty and celebrities of the day, including Lilly Langtry, Oscar Wilde and Sigmund Freud.

Harrods was always ahead of the curve in terms of groundbreaking innovation and customer satisfaction. They even installed the world’s first escalator in 1898. The business stayed in the Harrod family until the brothers Ali and Mohammed Al-Fayed purchased it in 1985. It sold again in 2010 for 1.5 billion to Qatar Holdings.