Harrods said revenue neared £900 million last year as the luxury department store enjoyed a boost from foreign tourists flocking back to London after the pandemic.
Turnover ticked up 8% to a record £898.4 million for the store over the year to February, Qatari-owned Harrods said in a regulatory filing.
This aided a 3% increase in operating profit to £162.9 million and a continued bounce back after lockdowns had prompted the store to close its doors during the pandemic.
Harrods’ improvement coincides with a revival in the number of foreign shoppers heading to London, with the lifting of restrictions on Chinese tourists early this year marking an end to global pandemic travel rules.
Though the resurgence indeed boosted the store, which heavily relies on foreign shoppers, Harrods noted new tax rules on such tourists risked hitting UK retailers.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak had axed VAT shopping for foreign tourists in 2021, prompting backlash from Harrods’ managing director Michael Ward.
Warning over the “tourist tax,” he said there was “factual evidence” to show Paris had done “disproportionately well” on the back of the new UK rules.
“It’s not just the tax-free goods they buy. It’s the extra nights in a hotel, it’s the money they spend around Paris, the meals they’ve bought. It’s the spill-over effect of the visit,” he said.