Who owns Harrods, is Harrods legit, and why is Harrods cheaper?

Did you know that you can find many of the same items that are available at Harrods on italist, for way less than retail? Read on for examples!

italist is U.S.-based, but rooted in close relationships with the best independent Italian luxury boutiques, along with many Italian team members. 

Additionally, italist offers free express shipping on every order, a broad catalog of over 1,500 brands, a strong social media following, and two-way communication with all our shoppers, even when there’s a problem.

italist sells only new, unused merchandise, and verifies its product sourcing with strict contractual agreements and individual invoices that prove the authenticity of any single item. Any item listed on italist is backed by a contract and an invoice with the brand.

Who owns Harrods?

Harrods is owned by the Qatari government and its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.

Harrods was founded in 1849 in London by Charles Henry Harrod and is famous for its massive store located in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood.

Is Harrods Legit?

We can’t answer the question is Harrods legit, but we do know that the store began its e-commerce business in 2019 with the help of Farfetch.

Today, Harrods.com has a 2.7/5 rating on Sitejabber, and a 2.1/5 rating on Trustpilot.

italist’s ratings are much better across all review sites – see below.

Why is Harrods cheaper? (It isn’t!)

Harrods follows each brand’s suggested price for either the U.K. or U.S. market depending on the brand, so the prices at Harrods can sometimes be lower than the U.S. suggested retail price.

However, italist sells at the Italian price, which is lower than anywhere else in the world for high-end and designer luxury goods. For many items, italist is still cheaper than Harrods.

For example, as of this publishing, Balmain’s turquoise blazer is listed at $2,695 at Harrods and on Balmain.com. 

On italist, the same jacket is listed for $1,289, a $1,406 savings vs. Harrods. That’s 52%!

Another example is Brunello Cucinelli’s silk satin tank top: $950 full price (on Harrods and Brunello Cucinelli), $452 on italist, a savings of $498. That’s also 52%!

So is Harrods really cheaper? No, not really. 

Here is a quick comparison of italist vs. Harrods: 

italist vs. Harrods

	italist	Harrods
Based In	U.S.A. 🇺🇸	U.K.
Free Express Shipping	4 business days, always	Starts at $30
Rating on Trustpilot.com	4.5	2.1
Rating on Sitejabber.com	4.5	2.7
Rating on BBB.org	4.8	–

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About the Author

Alex English is the Head of Content Marketing at italist.com, building on a lifelong passion for fashion and luxury. After publishing a lifestyle blog for nearly ten years and obtaining an MBA in Milan at SDA Bocconi, one of Europe’s top business schools, he joined the italist team in 2019. His work since then has focused on upper-funnel messaging, brand storytelling, establishing italist as a thought leader in the space, and enriching the customer experience on the platform. Find him on LinkedIn.