HARRODS, LTD.

in London, renowned department store. It is located on Brompton Road, south of Hyde Park, in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Henry Charles Harrod founded it as a grocery store in 1849. The enterprise expanded in the late 1800s, and many new departments were added. Although the store still provides gourmet food items, its emphasis is on high-fashion clothing. The store's owners expanded customer service to provide for every need and once boasted that Harrods had the best circulating library in London. Using the store's services, customers could buy theatre tickets, make travel reservations, and arrange funerals. Over the years Harrods made innovations in many areas of store operation. In 1884 cash desks were placed at convenient points to take customers' payments; most large retailers were using mechanical devices or runners to move customers' money and change between counters and a central cash station. The next year the store began to allow limited credit to approved customers. The present Harrods building was constructed in 1905.