Harrods Cites 40% Drop in Sales in Shutting Down Its Fur Salon

Less than 24 hours after voters in Aspen, Colo., rejected a ban on the sale of wild animal furs, one of the world’s most famous department stores said it would close its fur salon because of public opposition to the killing of animals.

Harrods, the luxury London department store, said Wednesday that it is closing its fur salon that has sold minks to the rich and famous for nearly a century.

The world-renowned store said fur sales have dropped by 40% during the past four years, but it denied caving in to pressure from animal rights groups.

The salon, whose concession is held by fur retailer Grosvenor Canada, will close April 21, after a decision 13 months ago by Harrods’ parent company, House of Fraser PLC, to end fur sales at its other 62 stores.

That announcement followed firebomb attacks on House of Fraser stores, including against shops in Plymouth and Cardiff in Britain.

According to government figures cited by Harrods, sales by Britain’s biggest fur traders totaled the equivalent of about $19 million in the first half of 1989, compared to $136 million in all of 1984.

Harrods said it would begin closing the salon with a sale beginning Friday at prices slashed by up to 75%.

But it will not be the last time furs are sold at Harrods, according to spokesman Andrew Wiles.

“There’s no doubt we will sell furs again, but not in the same way. It will be in a smaller, more specialized way. There’s a chance we might consider selling designer furs,” Wiles said.

Harrods said it will retain its fur cold storage and continue to offer its fur alteration, cleaning and valuation services.

Lynx, an anti-fur group, said, “In less than five years, the British public has become aware of the extreme and totally unnecessary cruelty involved in the production of fur coats.”