Harrod’s Deparment Store Selling Gold Bars
August 5, 2010
Harrods department store announced on Thursday it had joined with Swiss refiner Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux to offer gold bars weighing 12.5kg.
Harrods, established in 1834, is the first London shop to offer gold in-store. The bars are being kept in a miniature vault on the lower ground floor.
Selling gold during a recession? Harrods believes the strategy makes a lot of sense. The dollar and pound are weak, interest rates are low, and markets are jittery. Gold prices, in contrast, recently hit a record high of $1,072 an ounce. And for wealthy investors, who comprise the luxury store’s core clientele, gold represents one of the few remaining safe havens.
A full-sized 12.5-kilogram bar (around 27.5 pounds) costs about $466,000 based on Oct. 15 prices. Harrods will sell a range of gold including coins, small one-gram gold bars, and the more substantial 12.5-kilogram bars.
