London Shopping

The capital city of England, London is renowned throughout the world for being the hub of financial control and also one of the most desirable places to live. Not only does the London boast exceptional houses, which are often coupled with extremely high prices, the city of London also offers much history. The city is the home of royal family, housing Buckingham Palace which brings in many tourists to the city. Other iconic buildings include the tower of London, Big Ben, the London eye and ten Downing Street. Although the city does not only offer such iconic buildings, there are also many shops which bring in many tourists and make the area highly affluent.
One of the most famous shopping places offered by the city of London is Portobello Road. The road is located within Notting Hill district, which is located within the affluent area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which is West London. On Saturdays the street offers Portobello Market which his extremely popular and offers large variety of stalls. The market is so popular that it attracts many tourists for the main market day and also on other market days. The market offers everything from fruit and vegetables, to second clothes and antiques. In the 1960s antique traders began using this market, and the fresh food traders began trading here during the 19th century. The market stretches down Portobello Run in a north to north west direction and also south to south east. One of the reasons for the Portobello road and market being so popular is due to the press and media coverage it receives. The market has featured in several films and also many books have used the area as a setting.
In 1971 the market appeared in film named Bed knobs and Broomsticks.
In 1950 a television series featured the market; this was called The Blue Lamp and featured actors Dirk Bogarde and Jack Warner.
The current television series featured on the BBC, Bargain Hunt also regularly uses Portobello Market as a source of antiques and filming. There is also a board game which has been created using Portobello Market as the main point.
Another popular shopping destination which is very well known is Oxford Street which is located within Westminster. One of the reasons for it being so popular is due to it being the busiest shopping street in Europe. The area also has the highest density of shops, with 548 shops being located there. The street stretches over a mile and a half, beginning at Marble Arch, close to Hyde Park, running through Oxford Circus to St Giles Circus, through to the intersection between Charing Cross Road and Tottenham Court Road.
In the present day, Oxford Street offers a large amount of major department stores and also hosts many flagships stores for numerous brands. The flagship stores are often very popular with wealthy people, celebrities and also the general public.
Some of the stores which are located within Oxford Street will now be described.
The well known Moss Bros formal wear hire store is located here. One of the largest department stores in the UK, Selfridges is also located here. The flagship store of John Lewis opened here 1864. Marks and Spencer also have their flagship store here and it is known as Marks & Spencer Marble Arch. This is the organisation largest store with many of their other stores located around this area. The chain of stores Debenhams also has a store located on Oxford Street. Other stores include HMV, New Look, Schuh, Disney Store, Topshop, Primark, Uniqlo, H & M, United Colours of Benetton, Nike, Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Adidas, Games Workshop and Fair Spend.
One of the most famous shops within London and a shop which is also known world wide is Harrods. This is a high end department store located within Knightsbridge in Chelsea. The store is renowned for attracting tourists from all over the world and also offers a vast array of luxury products, often which expensive prices. The shop is popular with celebrities and royal families from all over the world.
The store is 5 acres in size and offers over million square feet of chopping space. This is the UKs largest shop, the next shop after this Selfridges on Oxford Street.
Harrods hols a famous motto, Omnia Omnibus Ubique which translates to All Things for All People Everywhere. This is mainly due to the shop catering for many needs and also do to it being world famous.
Until recently the store was owned by Mohammed Al Fayed who also owns Fulham football club, although on 8th May 2010 Harrods was sold to an investor group, Qatar Holdings for a fee in the region of 1.5 billion.
The Harrods store was established in 1909 and during its time has attracted some world famous shoppers including Michael Jackson, Oscar Wilde, Lillie Langtry, Ellen Terry, Noel Coward and the British Royal Family. In recent times the store has become increasingly popular within shoppers from the Far East who bring large amounts of revenue to the store. Some wealthy business people travel from places such Dubai and Abu Dhabi just to visit the store. One particular reason for the store being so popular is due to the large variety of luxury goods which are offered to the customers and also due to the large range of places the goods have been sourced from.
London also offers shoppers one of the most famous toys stores, which is Hamleys. This store is located on Regent Street and is considered to be a great tourist attraction, bringing in over five million visitors a year. The flagship store offers shoppers seven stores of shopping space which covers 54,000 square feet. The five levels offer soft toys, games, pre-school, girls, hobbies and boys departments. The store opened on Regent Street during 1981 and is still located here today.