Catering for connoisseurs

When Paul O’Shaugnessy joined Harrods as its purchasing controller his first objective was to modernise how the company sourced its products, as it had been the same for the last 150 years.

“A buyer would go to New Covent Garden Market and select products - essentially it was run like a greengrocer,” he explains. “We had over 100 suppliers of fruit and veg. That didn’t make Harrods a very commercial or considered business. The first thing I did was to put SAP in the foodhalls, which gave us much better buying control. Also, we no longer buy our produce from Covent Garden, which I don’t think is in its heyday anymore.”

Instead, a handful of suppliers were handpicked based on the ability to track down the products and specifications the store wants. Now, most of Harrods’ sourcing comes from Europe, specifically Rungis, through the same vendor that supplies the Ritz in Paris. It’s a contact dating back to the store’s previous owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed. The vendor in question has contacts in South America and Asia that give Harrods a real point of difference, says O’Shaugnessy. “We could buy average pomegranate from Covent Garden, or the best pomegranate on the planet. It might be in short supply but we’re not a high-volume business.”

Essentially O’Shaugnessy reinvented the foodhall. “We set about identifying what kind of retailer we want to be, and that’s not a traditional retailer. We have quite dynamic customers; they’re high net worth individuals and very discerning. It could be a Chinese or Middle Eastern shopper, a global tourist, but it could also be a local customer, who lives or works in the area. They go to Waitrose for their everyday needs and come to us for something a bit more special.”

The fruit and veg department in Harrods is basically a high-end exotics market that is also geared towards gifting, explains O’Shaugnessy. “We have embassies coming in buying fruit hampers as gifts, Middle Eastern customers buying silver platters to celebrate Eid, and that can be quite a valuable business for us.”

For Harrods’ customers, it’s all about provenance, taste and the visual appearance. Intriguingly, these discerning consumers are not bothered by ‘wonky veg’ but do seem to care about size, says O’Shaugnessy. “Products that are either unusually large or incredibly small seem to capture their imagination. We’ve got some of the smallest tomatoes on the planet. They’re the size of a pea but incredibly sweet. It’s those quirky products that attract our customers.”

Another example is big and succulent Edoa cherries from the Pyrenees which, when in supply, fly off the shelves. “We retail them at £200/kilo. It was our number-one exotic seller last year and they’re only available four weeks a year. But they are exceptional. At night, the grower sleeps in the orchard so he can cover the trees at the first sign of rain.”

It’s that kind of commitment - going above and beyond what other retailers offer - that allows Harrods to charge a premium. “The reason we do so well is the customer enjoys the experience and we’re a trusted brand,” believes O’Shaugnessy.

Building trust is clearly important to Harrods, and it’s easy to see why customers turn to the immaculately kept foodhall for their gourmet needs. It seems to host every exotic fruit and vegetable under the sun, as well as the very best of everything else. A relatively big section is devoted to dates, stacked in a tempting tower. The Saudi Arabian brand, Bateel, was brought in especially for the Middle Eastern customers. “It’s part of our commitment to our customers; it’s a well-known brand, so it provides that comfort and recognition in store.”

The same thinking applies to ingredients sought after by Michelin-starred restaurants, of which there are several in the area. O’Shaugnessy won’t name drop, but reveals that a number of famous chefs have Harrods on speed dial and make an emergency dash to Knightsbridge when they can’t access a special ingredient elsewhere.

Harrods also has 24 restaurants in the building, so buys in produce for them too. However, there is a difference in the products bought in for the in-house eateries and the ones that go on display. “The lemons on display in the foodhall will be the best waxy Amalfi lemons with a leaf, whereas for the restaurants we’ll source a simpler lemon as it’s just going to be chopped up anyway.”

Working closely with associated top chefs gives the store an insight into which food trends will appeal to their customers. Edible flowers, for example, did very well. Curiously, more mainstream trends like organic produce, might not work as well. “Because we are a quintessentially British business we run campaigns for special products, such as British strawberries for Wimbledon,” he explains. “Our customers may or may not buy into it though. We’ve tried to get into organic several times but never really got any traction. It seems organic is almost seen as secondary [quality wise].”

Perhaps organic is just too readily available. It certainly seems that the key to Harrods’ success, and the reason sales are up year on year, is the ability to hunt down the most unusual and exclusive produce in the world - and predicting what ‘added extras’ will appeal to their customers. On that note, O’Shaugnessy reveals the foodhall is about to launch a new service. “We’re working with a well-known individual at the moment and are about to launch a foraging service. It’s not something we envisage the high net worth individuals getting involved with though; it’s more for the foodies.”

Over at Selfridges, the foodhall has more of a contemporary greengrocer feel than of a luxury department store and is certainly busier. Its display, although equally tempting, perhaps doesn’t have quite the intricate level of detail as that at Harrods.

Glancing at the price tags, it also becomes clear that the produce is slightly less expensive than in Knightsbridge. A kilo of La Ratte potatoes, for example, retails at £3.95 rather than £5.95, and mangosteen is priced at £23/kg as opposed to £28.

Not that value for money is of much concern to Selfridges’ customers; people shop here for quality, not value. “We’re quite comfortable with where we sit on pricing,” says Nicola Waller, head of food. “We have a broad appeal and our customer base spans locals, foodies looking for innovative produce, and overseas travellers.”

Over 40,000 people walk through the foodhall every week, so keeping the fruit and veg aisle exciting is crucial. “We’re all about variety and choice,” explains Waller. “Rather than just stocking ordinary cherry tomatoes we’ve got Tigerelle tomatoes and Kumatos. An unusual twist on the traditional works well. We like to surprise, amaze and amuse, both through our products and display.”

Apart from innovation, Selfridges’ focus is on British-grown produce, whenever possible. The store got the first British asparagus this year, at the beginning of March, from John Chinn in Herefordshire, and British cherries are selling well, as are golden raspberries and pink gooseberries. “Provenance is important to us. Last week, for example, we had rhubarb grown 50 miles from London.”

All the soft fruit is UK-grown, too, but the store is selective in terms of which varieties are stocked. “We’ve banned Elsanta and Sonata strawberries due to their low quality,” reveals press officer Georgia Frost. “Those high-yielding varieties are not what we’re after. We only stock Jubilee strawberries now.”

Selfridges operates its foodhall as a concession; with Premier Fruits-owned Desiree, based in Covent Garden, which imports from all over the world. In terms of whether there is much of a premium in supplying the foodhall, Waller says there is, to some degree. “Our volumes are so small, we are a minor part of any of our suppliers.”

She is keen to hear from new suppliers though, anyone who offers “fabulous quality” and something unusual. “We’re always looking for the next big thing. For instance, we now have four seaweed varieties from northern Spain. The health benefits are fabulous. Our customers like that sort of thing.”

At the end of the day, the best sellers at Selfridges are traditional favourites. “There are certain seasonal varieties in the produce world that we’ll never move away from.” -

PRICING: NOT YOUR AVERAGE BASKET SPEND

HARRODS:

White cherries £60/kg

Girolles mushrooms £55/kg

Dragon fruit £17.50/kg

Yellow pitahaya £30/kg

Paw paw £11.50/kg

Mango £17.50/kg

Fresh coconut £16 each

Pomegranate £7.50 each

Mangosteen £28/kg

La Ratte potatoes £5.95/kg

SELFRIDGES

Rainier white cherries £20/kg

Chow chow £10.95/kg

Rambutan £20.85/kg

Globe artichoke £3 each

Kumato tomatoes £10.75/kg

Tigerelle tomatoes £13.75/kg

Baby plum tomatoes £16.75/kg

Limequots £25/kg

Mangosteen £23/kg

La Ratte potatoes £3.95/kg