Whether you love shopping or are just looking to pick up gifts for loved ones, England’s bustling capital is the best location for shopping. Home to famous department stores such as Harrods, Selfridges and Marks & Spencer, these shopping havens are more than just a place for a spot of retail therapy.
Get ready to slip on some comfortable shoes and spend the day at some of Top Sights Tours best places to shop.
Selfridges & Co
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom, operated by Selfridges Retail Limited.[1] It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908.[1] The flagship store on London’s Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened 15 March 1909.[4] Other Selfridges stores opened in the Trafford Centre (1998) and Exchange Square (2002) in Manchester, and in the Bullring in Birmingham (2003).
Marks & Spencer
Popular with overseas visitors staying in west London and with Londoners who adore the brand, M&S offers ‘everyday luxury’ with its own brand of goods, which are known for their reliable quality and affordable prices. Marks & Spencer’s mission is to make ‘aspirational quality accessible to all’, and this is truly the case with the company’s technology. … Their vision, experience, and expertise are helping Marks & Spencer regain its leadership by meeting the changing needs of customers, and improving our competitiveness.
John Lewis & Partners
The John Lewis Partnership is an employee-owned UK company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The company is owned by a trust[A]on behalf of all its employees — known as Partners – who have a say in the running of the business, and receive a share of annual profits, which is usually a significant addition to their salary. The JLP group is the third largest UK private company by sales in the Sunday Times Top Track 100 for 2016.[4] The chain’s image is upmarket, and it appeals strongly to middle- and upper-class shoppers. Recently, however, John Lewis has broadened its marketing strategy towards all types of buyers, with the introduction of the ‘Value’ range to John Lewis and the ‘Essential’ range to Waitrose, and the expansion of the business.
Debenhams
Debenhams is a leading international, multi-channel brand with a proud British heritage which trades from over 240 stores across 22 countries. Debenhams gives its customers around the world a unique, differentiated and exclusive mix of own brands, international brands and concessions.
In the UK, Debenhams has a top five market share in womenswear and menswear and a top ten share in childrenswear. It is a market leader in premium health and beauty.
Debenhams has been investing in British design for 20 years through its exclusive Designers at Debenhams portfolio of brands. Current designers include Abigail Ahern, Ted Baker, Jasper Conran, Patrick Grant, Henry Holland, Julien Macdonald, Savannah Miller, Jenny Packham, Preen, Richard Quinn and Matthew Williamson.
House of Fraser
House of Fraser (fondly known by some as ‘HOF’) has been on a mission to provide peoples heart’s desires for more than 150 years. From humble Drapery shop in Victorian Glasgow to internationally inspirational department store, they’ve come a long way and are still making history every day. So much more than just a house; but a department store full of your favorite things.
Harrods
Fun fact: It takes around 12,000 light bulbs to illuminate the famous facade of the store!
Harrods was first founded in 1849 as a small London shop with just two employees that sold fruit, vegetables, perfume, and medicine. But despite its humble beginnings, the London mainstay expanded to become one of the largest and most famous department stores in the world.
Harvey Nichols
Since Harvey Nichols first opened in Knightsbridge in 1831, it has led the way in sourcing the most desirable and cutting-edge designer brands. Recognised as the UK’s premier luxury fashion retailer, Harvey Nichols is internationally renowned for its expertly edited fashion and beauty merchandise, premium food and wine offer and award-winning restaurants.
Harvey Nichols has seven stores within the UK and Ireland, consisting of five large-format stores in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, and two small-format stores in Bristol and Dublin. A beauty concept store, Beauty Bazaar, Harvey Nichols, opened in Liverpool in November 2012.
All UK stores have luxury Foodmarkets and Restaurants, Cafés or Brasseries. Harvey Nichols also owns and operates OXO Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie on the South Bank in London.
Liberty London
sumptuous rooms inside also give an intimate feel, making you feel like you’re in a little from two ships. The wood panelling and rescued in the 1920s, many come to see this Tudor-style building’s timber frontage, which is Made public home rather than a store.
But all is not as outdated as it seems as. Liberty conservative might well look , but it actually sells cutting-edge designs and continually serves the luxury end of the shopping scale with its coronation of fine workmanship.
It’s easy to get lost in here, but it’s not a bad thing as it gives you plenty of time to enjoy the famous Liberty prints in the textiles department and the lovely oriental rugs.
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Fortnum & Mason
Quintessentially English and popular with the royal family, Fortnum & Mason has been on Piccadilly for more than 300 years since 1707. They are proud to have remained an essential destination for anyone in search of extraordinary food, exceptional service and joy-giving things ever since. Everyone remembers their first encounter with there, and no wonder – over our centuries of history, they have been committed to delivering a sense of pleasure to anyone who walks through the doors.