Me
I would say the best time to go shopping in London is in end June/early July 08 as this is the start of their summer sale. Almost every shop along the main
shopping areas of Sloane Street/Brompton Road and Regent/Oxford Streets is on sale. Of course, the best has to be the Harrods Summer Sale with designer wears and accessories going for a song! [Harrods - 87–135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7XL United Kingdom. Nearest tube station: Knightsbridge, Piccadilly Line]
So you can imagine my delight when I realised that I was in London when the Harrods Summer Sale started! I can't believe my good luck! I rushed down to Harrods on the Sunday where Harrods is holding the Sales Preview. However, that's when I realised that a Sales Preview is literally that! You can look, touch and feel all those lovely mechandise on sale with all the sale prices tagged BUT you can't buy them at the sale price just yet!! No no, this is just a sales preview for you to take a look around at what are the items on sale so you can strategise what to go for when the actual sale started - which is on the next day, a Monday.
This is totally different from the sales in Singapore. Back here, when the department stores hold a sales preview (which usually starts on Wednesday or Thursday), members of the store and sometimes even non-members get to buy the discounted items straight away! When the actual sale starts on a Friday, you will find most good stuff are gone by then. Although I am quite impressed with Harrods in a way - They start their sale on a Monday and strictly no discounts on the sales preview, it doesn't do me any good as I have to work on Monday!!! ARGH!!!!
Anyway, I believe someone must be watching over me that day as my meeting was held nearby and I was granted 2 hours for lunch. Lunch? You must be kidding! I rushed straight to Harrods after the meeting. Hahaha. The crowd there was unbelievable! I believe many people must have taken leave just to be there!
My first stop was of course the ladies' handbag department. OMG! Gucci bags were going for 50% less and Bottega Veneta is having 30% off their bags. Except for Louis Vuitton and Hermes, every luxury brand in Harrods is having a sale. Burberry, Chanel, Prada, Miu Miu, Chloe, YSL...sale is everywhere! You should see the queue for Gucci! It snaked all the way out of the building!!!!
Given the fact that I had only 2 hours, I had to be real quick. I applied the same philosophy in Harrods as I had in Bicester Village. Ignore the American brands and simply go for the European brands. I wish I had a shopping companion this trip though. Shopping alone is simply no fun. There was no one to consult! Can't simply whip out the phone as London is 7 hours behind so almost everyone I know should be in bed by then. Drats!
I grabbed a grey Miu Miu bag that was going for GBP399 and went up to the second floor where more brands were located. Hey, another Gucci store! Although the second outlet carries mainly apparels, it had some bags and accessories on sale too. There, I found a lovely Gucci hobo bag for GBP230. Gosh! The same bag would cost me close to S$1000 in Singapore!
If you love shoes, all the designer shoes were on sale too and arranged by size. How convenient! I wish they do the same in Singapore so that I can just go straight to the
section that carries my shoe size. In Singapore, the shoes are arranged by brand and you have to attract the attention of the sales assistant for sizes. A waste of precious shopping time I would say! Hee.
After getting the two bags, it was to the Toiletries department where I grabbed Molton Brown products that were on sale. My plan was to eventually fill my bathroom with all these Molton Brown stuff - Handwash, hand lotion, shower gel and all. Ha!
One more tip - If you are staying outside the EU like me, you can even get a VAT refund on all the purchases above GBP50! This is just like additional discount for us! What a bonus! Just remember to go to the Tax Refund counter inside Harrods store and get your tax refund forms. You will need to present this at the airport before you can claim back part of the VAT.
So if you are planning a trip to London next year, make it end June/early July. It is a great way to get extra mileage for your $$!
shopping areas of Sloane Street/Brompton Road and Regent/Oxford Streets is on sale. Of course, the best has to be the Harrods Summer Sale with designer wears and accessories going for a song! [Harrods - 87–135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7XL United Kingdom. Nearest tube station: Knightsbridge, Piccadilly Line] So you can imagine my delight when I realised that I was in London when the Harrods Summer Sale started! I can't believe my good luck! I rushed down to Harrods on the Sunday where Harrods is holding the Sales Preview. However, that's when I realised that a Sales Preview is literally that! You can look, touch and feel all those lovely mechandise on sale with all the sale prices tagged BUT you can't buy them at the sale price just yet!! No no, this is just a sales preview for you to take a look around at what are the items on sale so you can strategise what to go for when the actual sale started - which is on the next day, a Monday.
This is totally different from the sales in Singapore. Back here, when the department stores hold a sales preview (which usually starts on Wednesday or Thursday), members of the store and sometimes even non-members get to buy the discounted items straight away! When the actual sale starts on a Friday, you will find most good stuff are gone by then. Although I am quite impressed with Harrods in a way - They start their sale on a Monday and strictly no discounts on the sales preview, it doesn't do me any good as I have to work on Monday!!! ARGH!!!!
Anyway, I believe someone must be watching over me that day as my meeting was held nearby and I was granted 2 hours for lunch. Lunch? You must be kidding! I rushed straight to Harrods after the meeting. Hahaha. The crowd there was unbelievable! I believe many people must have taken leave just to be there!
My first stop was of course the ladies' handbag department. OMG! Gucci bags were going for 50% less and Bottega Veneta is having 30% off their bags. Except for Louis Vuitton and Hermes, every luxury brand in Harrods is having a sale. Burberry, Chanel, Prada, Miu Miu, Chloe, YSL...sale is everywhere! You should see the queue for Gucci! It snaked all the way out of the building!!!!
Given the fact that I had only 2 hours, I had to be real quick. I applied the same philosophy in Harrods as I had in Bicester Village. Ignore the American brands and simply go for the European brands. I wish I had a shopping companion this trip though. Shopping alone is simply no fun. There was no one to consult! Can't simply whip out the phone as London is 7 hours behind so almost everyone I know should be in bed by then. Drats!
I grabbed a grey Miu Miu bag that was going for GBP399 and went up to the second floor where more brands were located. Hey, another Gucci store! Although the second outlet carries mainly apparels, it had some bags and accessories on sale too. There, I found a lovely Gucci hobo bag for GBP230. Gosh! The same bag would cost me close to S$1000 in Singapore!
If you love shoes, all the designer shoes were on sale too and arranged by size. How convenient! I wish they do the same in Singapore so that I can just go straight to the
section that carries my shoe size. In Singapore, the shoes are arranged by brand and you have to attract the attention of the sales assistant for sizes. A waste of precious shopping time I would say! Hee.After getting the two bags, it was to the Toiletries department where I grabbed Molton Brown products that were on sale. My plan was to eventually fill my bathroom with all these Molton Brown stuff - Handwash, hand lotion, shower gel and all. Ha!
One more tip - If you are staying outside the EU like me, you can even get a VAT refund on all the purchases above GBP50! This is just like additional discount for us! What a bonus! Just remember to go to the Tax Refund counter inside Harrods store and get your tax refund forms. You will need to present this at the airport before you can claim back part of the VAT.
So if you are planning a trip to London next year, make it end June/early July. It is a great way to get extra mileage for your $$!
Labels: Harrods, london, shopping, summer sale
