Harvey Nichols, once the retail embodiment of 1990s cool and a recurring backdrop in Absolutely Fabulous, is now battling for survival amid mounting losses and a contested sale. The luxury department store group has reported pre-tax losses of £35.3m for 2024 and has not been profitable since the pandemic, prompting owner Sir Dickson Poon to put the chain on the market in June.
The Knightsbridge flagship plus locations in Bristol, Leeds and Manchester make up the group, and interest has come from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and from Next. Ashley, who is weighing a bid, told the Financial Times the business was caught in a “death spiral” and would be a “huge challenge” to run. Sellers are said to want £50m-£60m, but Ashley has suggested a deal would need a price closer to £40m.
Such numbers would have been unthinkable in the 1990s, when the store’s glamorous reputation made it a natural setting for the TV antics of Edina and Patsy. Fashion journalist Tony Glenville, active at the time, remembered the fifth-floor bar and a policy of snapping up the hottest designers each season, keeping the offering perpetually fresh.
Today, retail consultant Jonathan De Mello argues the business has lost its identity, stocking fashion comparable to what Selfridges or Harrods offer, while newer destinations like Dover Street Market are more likely to attract emerging labels. He maintains, however, that a sharper, more exclusive design-led approach could restore its appeal — provided the digital experience is strengthened, as successful retailers must now reach customers across multiple channels.
Recent efforts at the flagship include a 2025 redesign that placed high-end jewellery on the ground floor and introduced new designers and curated objects. Chief executive Julia Goddard, formerly of Alexander McQueen, took over in 2024, and noted fashion editor Kate Phelan is creative director. Phelan described the revamp as a “statement of intent,” saying the store aimed to create an experience that feels relevant, exciting and individual. The company declined to comment.
Founded as a linen shop in 1831 and established in Knightsbridge in 1889, Harvey Nichols passed through Debenhams and the Burton Group before Poon’s takeover in the early 1990s and a Leeds opening in 1996. Glenville, for his part, believes the current team deserves time to turn things around, praising recent window displays and cautioning that meaningful change rarely happens quickly.