Harrods swung to a loss of £57.3mn in the 52 weeks to Jan. 30, 2021. That compares to a profit of £191.4mn in the previous year. Turnover fell by more than 50% to £429.5mn and gross transaction value (including value-added tax) in the period fell by 50.1% to £1.1bn. Faced with the challenge, the British retailer implemented a proactive approach to engage with affluent Chinese consumers who are unable to travel to London due to China’s tight border controls. Harrods revealed that it has increased its presence in China substantially over the past year, starting with the opening of The Residence Shanghai, its first private shopping space dedicated to its Chinese clients, in October 2020. The concept was expanded to Beijing in June. Last month during Shanghai Fashion Week, the retailer hosted a three-day incubator program called The Harrods Hive. It included networking events and panel discussions with industry leaders, such as Kering, Labelhood, Tx Huaihai,and Xiaohongshu, that allowed for individuals from varied disciplines across the industry to join forces. This month, the company is due to open its first Harrods tea rooms concept in Shanghai, a space designed around bringing Harrods’ traditional British afternoon tea to Shanghai in a contemporary environment.