Harrods may replicate in Shanghai: report

The Qatari royals, the new owners of the Harrods want to break its exclusivity and may opt for Chinese famous port city of Shanghai to build a replica of the historic store which stands in London's Knightsbridge, 'Financial Times' reported.

Qatar holding which bought the London store for a staggering 1.5 billion pounds from its flamboyant and often controversial owner Mohammed Al Fayed may target the Chinese city to export the brand overseas.

The new owners, the paper said had omitted out cities like Paris, Madrid and New York as options arguing that they were too close to London and would distract business from the icon store.

The Qataris are also thinking of developing a luxury online store, expanding Harrods beyond souvenirs for the mass market and expanding the London store.