Harrods to exit Shanghai space in January but Chinese consumers remain key for retailer

Harrods is preparing to close its major Chinese lifestyle and hospitality spaces in Shanghai in January, ending a presence in the key city that it had ramped up during this decade. It will shutter its Tea Rooms and its private members club The Residence. 

The company had set foot in the city in 2020 with a concept that was an invitation-only luxury personal shopping offer with the aim of growing it to other cities in the country. By 2023 it had evolved into The Residence club that sat atop the Tea Rooms concept it had opened in 2021.

They’d been designed to reach affluent Chinese consumers by offering them an experience of traditional British service, culture, luxury and lifestyle. There was a focus on exclusivity with membership numbers carefully capped.

But the concepts had been originally influenced by changes that happened during the pandemic when fewer Chinese consumers were travelling and they were perhaps less suited to the world of 2025 with the Knightsbridge, London, flagship still the key point of contact for Harrods with its Chinese customers. 

That said, the retailer stressed that China and its Chinese clients “remain very important to us, and we look forward to continuing to curate exclusive pop-up events and activities in the region, celebrating local creative talents, engaging our community through Harrods digital channels, and exploring local wholesale opportunities, as well as welcoming customers to our Knightsbridge store”.

The company will also continue with its China-tailored WeChat mini-program and its Knightsbridge store remains a must-visit destination for affluent Chinese visitors to the UK.

The China move is part of a wider trend in the luxury sector where retailers and brands have pulled out of expensive permanent physical spaces to focus instead on short-term VIP physical experiences while maintaining ongoing communication through digital interactions and virtual events.