Hello dear friends and a happy new year!

This year Training Centre Raya London will be happy to support your English Language learning with entertaining texts. They are written in Bulgarian and then translated in English so you can compare them. This way you will be able to easily improve your English.

We all love shopping in Harrods, especially during the sales. It has 330 sections, covers an area of 100 00 sq. m. and it really claims to offer an infinite number of goods which is also its slogan: “Everything for everyone everywhere.” But let’s find out something more about the history of this store that opened its doors over two centuries ago.

        Charles Henry Harrod, who was a tea merchant, established the noticeable institution in 1824 by only selling curtains, bedclothes, lamps` wicks, and a number of other small goods. This business was opened in a partnership which soon fell apart, therefore Charles Harrod opened a grocery store in Stepney. He immediately expanded his range as a response to the demand trends. About 20 years later he moved his business to Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, south of Hyde Park, where the store attracts millions of visitors to this day. Charles Harrod started his business in a small place with only two assistants and a courier, however, his son – Charles Harrod Junior has successfully turned it into a thriving business by adding perfumes, medicines and a wide variety of food. Soon Harrod’s business expanded and they filled the entire 4-storey building and until 1881 they hired about 100 people.

Unfortunately, a fire broke out in the building and completely burnt it in 1883. They built a much bigger and glorious building across the street where they eventually moved their business to.

In 1898 Harrods entered a brand new attraction – an escalator. It gave the customers such an exciting experience that at the top they were offered brandy to calm them down.

The variety of goods that the store was offering was so diverse that until 1976 they were selling even exotic animals. The son of the Albanian king and queen bought an elephant and gave it to the president of the United States Ronald Reagan in 1967. Today there is no exotic animal section, instead, women’s clothing has taken its place.

Although Charles Harrod Junior had eight children, none of them shared his passion for the store. He sold the control package of shares and that is how the Harrods Company was created. Because of the huge success of the brand it was decided to keep the name Harrods as a guarantee for quality and good attitude towards the customers.

For short time Mohammed Al Fayed owned the store– the father of Dodi Al Fayed who tragically died in the car crash with Princess Diana. Later he sold the store to a Qatari holding for the amount of 1.5 billion pounds.

              With its historic building and fame, Harrods is one of the most visited stores not only in England, but also in Europe. Its branches could be found at every Heathrow Airport terminal, so that even the transit passengers can shop in this commercial institution.

Author: Iveta Radeva

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