The story of Harrods Harrods is one of the most famous department stores in the world. It's the largest shop in the UK, but not the largest in the world. More than 5,000 people work there, and twelve million shoppers visit the store every year. It's more than a shop - it's popular with tourists, and it's got an interesting history, In 1834, a businessman called Charles Harrod started a small shop in East London. It sold tea and other food and drink. In 1849, he moved his shop to Knightsbridge, a richer part of London. It started as a very small shop with only two shop assistants, but by 1881 it was a large and successful store with a hundred shop assistants. Harrods became famous for selling anything you wanted to buy. Celebrities and members of the royal family began to shop there. In 1969, two Australians bought a lion cub from the store. They called him Christian and he lived in their house in London until he was a year old. Did you know? In 2007, Harrods had a very expensive pair of shoes for sale in their shoe department. They cost £62,000! To protect the shoes from thieves, Harrods decided to put a snake next to the shoes. Nobody tried to steal them!
