Luxury department store · Retail & Consumer Commerce

Harvey Nichols

A British luxury department store with its flagship in Knightsbridge, London, and further stores across the UK selling designer fashion, beauty and food.

About Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols is a luxury department store. Its Knightsbridge flagship in London sells designer fashion, accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury food, and it has restaurants and bars in some stores. The Manchester store has a bar and brasserie on its second floor, and the OXO Tower restaurant has long been associated with the brand. The brand also sells womenswear, menswear and gifts, and has built a name for combining designer shopping with fine dining. Stacey Cartwright became chief executive in 2014, and its restaurants in Knightsbridge, Leeds and Manchester have been designed by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.

Benjamin Harvey opened a linen shop at the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in 1831. After his death in 1850, his family and James Nichols formed Harvey Nichols and Co. The present building was designed by C. W. Stephens and built in stages from 1889 to 1894. A fifth-floor restaurant opened in 1975. Dickson Poon of Dickson Concepts bought the business in 1991, and it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. The company was bought by Debenhams in 1920, then passed to the Burton Group in 1985 when it acquired Debenhams. After Dickson Poon acquired it in 1991, a major refurbishment followed. Its first international store opened in Riyadh in 2000.

We did not find a formal list of company values. Its own history page describes a focus on fashion, mixed designer collections and a reputation for fashionable fine dining. Kate Phelan became the first creative director in November 2024. Openings in Leeds (1996, nicknamed the Knightsbridge of the North), Birmingham (2001), Edinburgh (2002) and Manchester (2002, 100,000 square feet) built its presence across the UK. The company resumed selling fur in UK stores in 2013, which drew criticism from campaigners.

Its UK stores have included London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, with Bristol and Liverpool also listed, though one source is inconsistent about Liverpool. ACQUIRED: by Frasers Group (completed 13 August 2026). Frasers plans to rebrand stores other than the Knightsbridge and Edinburgh flagships as Flannels or Frasers shops, and the Dublin store closed, so the UK picture may change.

Roles in a store like this include personal shoppers and sales teams, beauty advisers, visual merchandisers, buyers, restaurant and bar staff, marketing and head-office teams. The Frasers change means checking what the current structure looks like before applying.

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Key facts

Website: www.harveynichols.com

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