I went to Selfridges yesterday. Today, the sale of the boss of Oxford Street department stores to a Thai retailer and an Austrian property firm was confirmed. The two things are not related and neither is the fact that I found what I wanted in John Lewis rather than the retail flagship founded by US shopping magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge, which opened on 15 March 1909. I still like Selfridges and hope it thrives. Oxford Street’s big department stores are part of the romance of London and the pandemic has already damaged it.
Here’s an excellent short film about Selfridges history, which encompasses Louis Blériot, John Logie Baird and the Suffragette movement as well as shopping.
More on the history of Selfridges from the Washington Post.
Photo from Selfridges website.
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