LONDON — Beginning in January, Harrods will shutter its private members’ club The Residence and the Harrods Tea Rooms in Shanghai, the London-based retailer said in a statement Thursday.
“After careful consideration, Harrods has taken the decision to not renew its building lease in Shanghai and instead focus on providing experiences and services where we believe we can deliver most impact in China,” Harrods said.
The Residence was conceived as an invitation-only personal shopping concept. It was introduced in December 2020 in Shanghai during the COVID-19 pandemic with ambitions to expand into more Chinese cities like Shenzhen, Chengdu and Beijing.
In 2023, it underwent an “evolution” to become the British luxury department store’s first private members’ club.
It is nestled on top of the Harrods Tea Rooms, which opened in 2021 at the restored historical mansion of Cha House within the HKRI Taikoo Hui development. It comes with a bar, a spacious lounge, private dining rooms, outdoor terraces, and a members-only restaurant headlined by Gordon Ramsay.
Sarah Myler, international business development and communications director at Harrods, told WWD at the time that the decision to open a members’ club with annual fees starting at 150,000 renminbi was born out of the feedback from local clients, who were not able to travel internationally during the pandemic.
With global travel resuming and luxury spending taking a nosedive in China in the past two years due to a myriad of economic challenges, it’s understandable that Harrods would close its hospitality operations in Shanghai.
Still, the retailer emphasized that China and its Chinese clients remain “very important,” and it plans to continue to curate pop-up events and activities in the region, celebrating local creative talents, engaging with the community through Harrods’ digital channels, and exploring local wholesale opportunities.
Its Knightsbridge store in London will also host an ongoing program of events for Chinese clients, such as the Chinese New Year fashion pop-up with the Shanghai-based retailer Labelhood.
“Harrods’ senior leadership from across our buying, business development and brand teams will continue to support local partners across a calendar of visits planned for the next year,” the retailer added in the statement.
The restored historical mansion of Cha House within HKRI Taikoo Hui.
Courtesy of Harrods/Philippe Roy
Another factor for the exit could be strategic adjustments from the property’s landlord, HKRI Taikoo Hui.
With the opening of “The Louis,” an unorthodox Louis Vuitton flagship in the shape of a boat within the development over the summer that helped the mall gain massive online attention and foot traffic, more major luxury players are eager to be under one roof.
It’s been reported by Bloomberg that fellow LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton fashion house Dior is in talks to open a store at HKRI Taikoo Hui as early as 2027. Were it to happen, Cha House, the Baroque-style villa with a British twist that’s more than a century old, could be an ideal location for top-tier luxury players like Dior to create a brand experience in the city.
HKRI Taikoo Hui’s sister property in Beijing, Sanlitun Taikoo Li, has been undergoing a five-year transformation, reshaping the northern part of the trendy shopping complex to host a slew of high-profile luxury flagships, including stand-alone mega Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Hermès stores, and the Christian de Portzamparc-designed House of Dior Beijing, slated for its grand opening on Dec. 11.
