Harvey Nichols
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harvey Nichols ("Harvey Nicks"), founded in 1813, is an upmarket department store chain. Its original store is in London, England but it expanded to Leeds, England, and later to more cities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Founded in 1813 as a linen shop, it offers many of the world's most prestigious brands in womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, food, and home. Harvey Nichols attracts younger shoppers than its rival Harrods but tends to be more expensive.
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[edit] History
In 1813, Benjamin Harvey opened a linen shop in a terraced house on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in London. The business passed on to Harvey's daughter in 1820 on the understanding that she go into partnership with Colonel Nichols, selling Oriental carpets, silks, and luxury goods alongside the linens.
The existing Knightsbridge store was opened in the 1880s, with the rear section added in 1932.
In 1919, Harvey Nichols was bought by Debenhams and in 1985 became part of the Burton Group. In 1991, the store was acquired by Dickson Concepts, an international retailer and distributor of branded luxury goods based in Hong Kong and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In April 1996, Harvey Nichols obtained a full listing on the London Stock Exchange and for next seven years, remained a listed company. 1996 also marks the year when Harvey Nichols opened their first store outside of London; Harvey Nichols Leeds constantly outperforms the original store.
February 2003, however, saw the controversial return of Harvey Nichols to private ownership. The store is now owned by the Hong Kong-based businessman Dr. Dickson Poon whose retail businesses extend to North America, Europe, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
[edit] Overview
In the United Kingdom, Harvey Nichols has stores in London, Leeds, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Manchester. It also has a store in Al-Faysaliyah Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and a store at Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin in Ireland. It opened a store in Istanbul's Kanyon Shopping Mall on October 13, 2006. The London flagship store is located in the heart of Knightsbridge. Rival store Harrods is located only a few streets away.
In addition to its fashion retailing business, Harvey Nichols redeveloped the top floor of its London flagship store to create a restaurant, bar, café, wine shop, and foodmarket which have become destinations in their own right. A similar concept operates from the top floors of all Harvey Nichols full-size stores.
In 1996, Harvey Nichols launched its first stand-alone restaurant in London, the OXO Tower Restaurant, Bar, and Brasserie, viewing the Thames River. Another restaurant, called Prism, was opened in the city's financial district in 1999.
Harvey Nichols opened the 32,000 square foot store in Dundrum, Dublin in September 2005. Further stores are due to open in Bristol, Dubai (120,000 square feet), and Hong Kong (60,000 square feet, located in The Landmark) in the autumn of 2006. It also has proposals to stores in Glasgow, Newcastle and Cardiff in the near future.
[edit] Harvey Nichols in the Media
On 20 March 2004, protests stop Harvey Nichols selling fur. In a statement, Clive Morton, the Company Director of Harvey Nichols, said: "The board has today reviewed the company’s fur policy and has decided going forward that we will no longer stock real fur items."
On 21 September 2005, 22-year-old Clare Bernal, a beautician working on the ground floor at Harvey Nichols was shot repeatedly at close range by Michael Pech, her obsessed former lover. Pech then turned the gun on himself suffering a fatal head wound. [1] [2]
The UK rap duo The Mitchell Brothers recorded a song, entitled 'Harvey Nicks' comically looking at how the pair are frowned upon in the shop for being black. Another UK rapper, Plan B (Artist) recorded the song 'Some1 Switched In Harvey Nicks' after reading the story of Clare Bernal (see above) in the newspaper while supporting The Mitchell Brothers during a concert. He made the song available for free download as he did not feel it was right to make money from the incident, but also did not want to see the song wasted. At a Tiscali music session he played an acoustic version of the song, with the guitar of Radiohead's song 'Street Spirit (Fade Out.)'
