Harrods opens first outlet to deal with covid-stock

Harrods is to open a pop-up outlet store in a London shopping centre next month, to deal with overstock while obeying social distancing.

Social distancing

Harrods’ annual summer sales usually attract huge crowds, which is not in line with the current guidelines on social distancing. In order to allow the sales to take place in a responsible way, the department store will open a pop-up of 7,500 sqm in the Westfield shopping centre in West London.

“In the new world in which we find ourselves, the economy needs businesses willing to look at its business model and current operations and think differently to enable growth, while protecting its customers and employees”, Chain Store Age quotes Harrods managing director Michael Ward. “Harrods Outlet allows us to enable better social distancing across a larger footprint, move towards the new season decisively and confidently, and retail in a responsible way”, Ward adds.

The ‘real’ Harrods, London’s iconic flagship department store, is scheduled to reopen on 15 June. In the next two weeks, Harrods will install signage and hand gel dispensers in the store, as well as develop a system to limit traffic in the store.

Ward says he is “optimistic about the future”, despite the current hardships. “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”, CSA continues his quote.