Celebrities, Glitter and Deep Discounts: Harrods' January Sale Is On

LONDON — Forget Bloomingdale's. Skip Macy's. For true bargain hunters, there's only one real sale: the January sale that began Friday at Harrods, perhaps the world's most famous department store.

At least, that's what Harrods' PR folks would like you to think.

But they may be right. After all, where else could you find the a Roberto Cavalli cocktail dress marked down from $2,800 to $1,600, or a Missoni Thermore coat cut from $3,800 to $2,200?

Only at Harrods, and only during one of its two annual sales (another less-famous sale occurs every July) could shoppers find $16,000 knocked off the price of a Yamaha piano.

Day One of the annual sales frenzy started very early Friday morning as hundreds of shoppers, all keen to bag a bargain, lined up alongside the terra-cotta building that stays illuminated with 11,500 light bulbs.

In the air was the smell of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, available at Harrods from the street at a special walk-up window that opens at 7 a.m.

"I really want a plasma TV and I want it cheap and I want to be the first one in the doors to get it," said Desmond Henry, 32, of Surrey, England.

Just before the 9 a.m. store opening, a string quartet performed "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" outside the main entrance, which served to drown out the shouts of "Shame on Harrods" coming from a crowd of animal rights activists protesting the sale of fur.

Then English pop singer Lily Allen, newly pregnant with her first child, arrived in a green horse-drawn carriage just in time for all 11 doors of Harrods to open for business.

Since 1988, when Charlton Heston was on hand, a celebrity has traditionally opened the January sale. Last year it was cleavage-showing Eva Longoria, star of TV's "Desperate Housewives."

This year, a more modest Allen wore a sequin dress and coat by Jasmine Di Milo as she toured the store, accompanied by Harrods' Egyptian-born owner Mohamed al Fayed, father of Princess Diana's boyfriend Dodi al Fayed. Following the pair was a loud troupe of Harrods bagpipers.

But the real reason up to a quarter-million people were expected at the store Friday was deeply discounted products, not celebrities. Prices of many items have been slashed by between 20 percent and 75 percent for the four-week sale.

For example, the price of a Burberry scarf has been cut from $400 to $130, and the 60-inch plasma TV sought by Henry was marked down from $7,600 to $5,700.

Fashion accessories were in particularly hot demand. Access to Gucci handbags — marked down by 50 percent — was being restricted by security personnel Friday morning due to the throngs of customers.

But because the strong British pound is still hovering near $2, American visitors will be hard-pressed to find anything that can be remotely labeled as cheap.

After all, it's difficult to get excited about a $500 Louis Vuitton wallet, even if it is on sale.

FACTS ABOUT HARRODS

— Takes in approximately $2 million in a normal day, but could take in more than $30 million on a sale day.

— Employs about 5,500 staff people. During sale time, that number goes up to 6,000.

— Sees perhaps 35,000 customers a day. On Friday, the number was expected to be about 250,000.

— Has 300 departments and 1 million square feet of display space on seven floors. The store has its own fire brigade, bank, and magazine. The Food Hall has 18 departments in total. The Cheese Department offers 250 different types of cheese, the Bakery Department sells 130 different types of bread and scones, and the Confectionery Department sells in excess of 100 tons of chocolate per year.