Harrods pushes summer sale to July amid supply chain disruptions
Harrods has delayed its summer sale to 1 July due to global supply chain disruptions holding up delivery of new season stock.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, Michael Ward, Harrods’ Managing Director, told Bloomberg TV: "Our supply chain is running two to three weeks behind where it should be. A good example of that is we’ve just delayed the summer sale for two weeks because I need another 10% of new-season stock to allow me to function into the new year."
The London department store also warned of the risk of being short staffed amid a tight labour market where retailers, airlines and hospitality sectors are also hampered by shortages.
Ward added: "It’s almost impossible to find the right staff. We’ve lost significant amounts of people as a result of Brexit. And it’s not the skilled or qualified, it’s the people we need to do jobs that unfortunately the British will not do."
However, demand for luxury goods had been strong, particularly from Middle Eastern, American and British customers despite a sharp rise in inflation.
Last week, Harrods opened its fifth standalone beauty store, H Beauty at the Metrocentre, Gateshead. The launch follows store openings at Lakeside in Essex, Centre:mk in Milton Keynes, St James Quarter in Edinburgh, and Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.