Harrods vs Al Fayed: Can London's most famous shop survive its Jimmy Savile moment?

As Storm Bert battered the glowing, Loro Piana-branded façade of Harrods connected Saturday night, hundreds of mink-covered elbows battled their mode done its doors for safety. Inside, they were met by a cacophony of contactless cards bleeping tens of thousands of pounds done to Europe’s largest section store — a Wonka’s mill for the planetary 1 per cent, wherever billionaire’s children clamber connected £120,000 exemplary Ferraris, tourists compression into £8,000 Carolina Herrera sequin gowns successful VIP buying suites, and queues for the ground-floor ornament section snake further than the oculus tin see.

But ghosts stalk the halls of this 175-year instauration — nary much truthful than that of the precocious Mohamed Al Fayed, its Egyptian proprietor and president from 1985 to 2010, arsenic countless accusations of his rape and brutal intersexual assault of pistillate unit proceed to permission the federation speechless. There is nary denying Al Fayed’s beingness inside: his look is inactive carved into the sphinxes which look down successful the erstwhile magnificent, but present bone-chilling, Egyptian Hall.

Insiders from the fashion, food, portion and luxury industries interviewed implicit the people of this probe testified to the decades-old rumours of Al Fayed’s crimes, which had agelong swirled astir precocious society. “It was known helium was a randy aged sod who tried it connected with staff,”; “we knew helium was a letch, to beryllium avoided”; “everyone thought helium was a incorrect ’un,” they person said. All besides assertion ne'er to person known the details, nor understood the scale, of the maltreatment which lawyers present accidental “combined the astir horrific parts of Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein”.

Despite foul play archetypal being reported arsenic aboriginal arsenic 1995, successful a Vanity Fair article, and scores of whistleblowers being sidelined since, it was the BBC’s airing of Al Fayed: Predator astatine Harrods successful September that became the weaponry which yet broke done — prompted by the fury felt by survivors who watched Al Fayed’s “funny and gregarious” portrayal successful play six of The Crown.

The documentary’s enactment of enquiry, “Did the luxury store support a billionaire predator?”, sent the Qatari state-owned Harrods Ltd executives, who bought 1 of the UK’s astir prized possessions from Al Fayed for £1.5 billion successful 2010, into panic. In it, 20 ex-Harrods employees item however they were sexually assaulted oregon raped by Al Fayed, who sauntered done his store cherry-picking victims arsenic young arsenic 15, and aboriginal attacked them successful assorted locations including his Park Lane apartment, the Ritz Paris, which helium besides owned, arsenic good arsenic Villa Windsor, the erstwhile location of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, which helium spent £12m refurbishing successful bid to get person to the royal household — thing helium yet succeeded successful doing, some himself, and via his lad Dodi, who died successful the clang with Princess Diana arsenic they near the Ritz Paris successful 1997.

It present transpires the BBC’s weaponry was nuclear. Lawyers for the survivors’ radical accidental much than 400 alleged victims of the ex-Harrods proprietor person present travel guardant successful the store’s MeToo moment, portion the worst tales, agelong sequestered successful its 7 underground floors, person scandalised the business’ image, its elder absorption and the British constitution — up to the precocious Queen Elizabeth II, who was reportedly warned “Al Fayed was a soiled aged antheral who attacked women”.

On October 31, survivors Jen, Gemma and Lindsay called for a Harrods boycott during a property league held by the Justice for Harrods Survivors group, arsenic they posed with Harrods totes defaced with achromatic crosses. Lindsay slammed Harrods arsenic “a store that enabled the rape and intersexual maltreatment of truthful galore young and guiltless women … So we don’t deliberation that radical should beryllium buying there. We deliberation they should beryllium going elsewhere.” Bruce Drummond KC astatine New Bailey Chambers, a lawyer for the group, went connected to implicate the institution, stating: “That is concern standard maltreatment — maltreatment that could person lone been perpetrated with a strategy that enabled the maltreatment to happen.” A 24/7 hotline and website harrodssurvivors.com has been acceptable up to papers each caller reports.

Can Harrods upwind the storm? Certainly much is coming. “We volition beryllium commenting connected existent employees [who could beryllium implicated] successful the adjacent future,” a advisor for the survivors radical told The London Standard, ominously. “We are conscionable awaiting the barristers to get each of their ducks successful a row.”

The grim revelations buzz astir the store arsenic gossip among unit today. “We each watched the documentary and discussed it successful idiosyncratic astatine Harrods,” says an worker with much than 10 years’ service, who is speaking anonymously due to the fact that elder managers person banned employees from talking to the press.

“It’s truly horrific to perceive immoderate of the worldly these women had to spell through, particularly for those of america that person worked present for a very, precise agelong time. We were lone told however fantastic Mr Fayed was,” they added. “We had nonstop connection from absorption aft [the BBC documentary] was released… they present person a dedicated idiosyncratic who is possibly a spot much alert of delicate topics similar [sexual battle and rape].”

Setting up a water-tight HR strategy is portion of the Harrods C-suite’s intricate program to prevention look — already an betterment from darker, Al Fayed days. Staff moving astatine the store nether Qatari absorption person testified: “It’s a overmuch much of a nonrecreational situation now.”

“It does look this is simply a precise acheronian infinitesimal for the brand,” says Mark Borkowski, publicity adept and writer of The Fame Formula. “Mohamed Al Fayed is gone, the store is not owned by him but the existent proprietors unluckily are saddled with each negativity that has been created.

“They’re trying to abstracted the ghosts of the past from the concern of Harrods, and support it arsenic 1 of the premier buying locations successful the satellite — but that is going to necessitate a precise profound situation strategy. We’re not adjacent past the foothills. These are aboriginal days.”

The imminent ineligible battles volition apt spell retired however the aboriginal months, and years, volition unfurl. “It’s present going to beryllium a precise analyzable communicative legally, whether oregon not charges tin beryllium pressed by anybody; whether those radical are inactive presently employed by the store; [and] what the purchasers knew oregon didn’t know,” Borkowski explains. “If Harrods gets dragged done the courts, it isn’t going to beryllium peculiarly good.”

It is nary instant decease warrant, however. As 1 concern insider puts it: “It’s similar Jimmy Savile and the BBC. Savile was precise damaging — but however galore radical really stopped watching Match of the Day? Probably not that many.”

Borkowski adds, “Audiences look to person short-term representation nonaccomplishment and semipermanent amnesia astir reputational issues. Look astatine Michael Jackson. The magnitude of sound and negativity that was generated astir his sanction [was extraordinary]. But radical say, hide the man, we emotion the music. The question is: has Harrods arsenic a commercialized store got the aforesaid powerfulness arsenic euphony to really resonate with radical connected an affectional level?”

“They’ve already been compensating people,” says George MacDonald, enforcement exertion of Retail Week, who thinks the marque is bigger than 1 atrocious man. “It volition beryllium important that Harrods is seen arsenic a concern to beryllium doing the close thing.”

Time volition archer if existent employees successful elder positions volition soon carnivore the brunt. Michael Ward, who has tally the section store since 2006, has truthful acold maintained his presumption — but announced past week helium would measurement down arsenic seat of the Walpole luxury goods group, 1 of a fig of positions helium has relinquished since the allegations broke. “Michael Ward is simply a precise respected figure, but this is horribly damaging,” 1 insider says.

“As idiosyncratic who has worked astatine Harrods since 2006 — and, therefore, worked for Fayed until the alteration of ownership successful 2010 — I consciousness it is important to marque it wide that I was not alert of his criminality and abuse,” Ward said successful a statement. This contrasts with myriad claims, including Tony Leeming’s, a erstwhile employee, who told the BBC documentary: “Everyone who said they didn’t cognize is lying, I’m sorry.”

For good implicit a century, Harrods has been 1 of London’s top tourer attractions; a storied mecca wherever “one tin bargain anything” — adjacent lions, arsenic John Rendall and Ace Bourke did successful 1969. But adjacent earlier the fearfulness movie revelations astir Al Fayed were broadcast, home shoppers had declined to a 50:50 divided with tourists. On the store floor, it feels adjacent much skewed to the latter.

“All of our large section stores person precise antithetic USPs and clientele: there’s a younger shopper astatine Selfridges; a precise monied 1 astatine Harrods,” says Natalia Cassel, a seasoned manner PR. She thinks the ungraded could beryllium a deadly home stroke for a store already connected the mode retired for UK shoppers. “It was the jewel successful our crown, and that has benignant of gone now. It’s a bittersweet state,” she says.

In fashion, 1 historical déjà vu is being tipped, arsenic Harvey Nichols is reportedly looking to snare backmost British luxury shoppers successful the aftermath of Matches Fashion’s autumn and different multi-retailer declines. In the Nineties “when Ab Fab was connected the telly, Harvey Nicks besides stole a truly large magnitude of Harrods’ aura,” Cassel recalls.

“For radical that aren’t needfully aligned with the values that Harrods has travel to correspond today, possibly determination is simply a accidental for them to get a larger lawsuit base.” It’s assignment of erstwhile Vogue manager Kate Phelan, person of Kate Moss and manufacture legend, this period looks to play into the strategy.

It is hard astatine this signifier to measure the harm that the ungraded volition inflict connected Harrods arsenic a business, and the past acceptable of accounts amusement that the store has been trading powerfully since it emerged from the traumas of the pandemic. In the twelvemonth to February 3 full income worthy £2.45 billion were rung done Harrods tills, up 6.7 per cent connected the erstwhile 12 months. A hefty dividend of £180m was paid to its sole shareholder, the Qatar Investment Authority. But the study from Harrods Ltd besides lists the “high standards of conduct” that directors of the institution are expected to uphold, arsenic good arsenic a committedness to enactment “our employees’ wellbeing and intelligence health.”

Despite the 14 years that person passed since Fayed sold Harrods, and implicit a twelvemonth since helium died, those words ringing hollow with the streams of women, present empowered successful their hundreds, who are banging connected the windows for answers.

“Audiences person short-term representation nonaccomplishment and semipermanent amnesia astir reputational issues. Look astatine Michael Jackson. The magnitude of sound and negativity that was generated astir his sanction [was extraordinary]. But radical say, hide the man, we emotion the music. The question is: has Harrods got the aforesaid powerfulness arsenic euphony to really resonate with radical connected an affectional level?”