Well over the past few months Ive suddenly been in a fortunate situation where I have had to frequent Selfridges on a regular basis to buy goods. I'll tell you the story first before reviewing the store.

A few months ago I completed a survey at a tube station. There was a slight delay before the train came so I didn't mind doing it at all to pass the time! It was about George Bush(!) and was for a national paper. A few weeks later I got an email to say I'd won £1000 at Selfridges! I didnt believe it at first and ignored it (I thought it was spam mail) I then got a phone call to ask if Id got the email. It was only then that it clicked! I didnt realise that there was a prize draw for completing the survey and it was completely out of the blue! The voichers arrived and since then I have been popping into Selfridges from time to time.

Anyway, before you start rating me 'Off Topic' I'd better get onto the store!

SELFRIDGES - AN OVERVIEW

Selfridges is probably now the premier dept store in London. The 80's was the decade for Harrods, in the 90's, the award went to Harvey Nicks and now Selfridges is the place to be seen. If you are that kind of person, that is. In recent years it has opened 3 new branches, 2 in Manchester (Trafford Centre and City Centre - Exchange Square) and Brimingham Bull Ring(which I have been too and will mention later).

Im not the kind of person who would usually shop at Selfridges, but due to my winnings I have grown to know the London store very well. It may be some people's idea of hell but you have to take it at face value. Its designed for people who LOVE shopping and have LOTS OF MONEY (in London, there are a lot of these people!) So maybe we shouldnt go slating the store if you dont like shopping and cant afford it. Its not meant for you (myself included)! Go to Primark instead (an excellent store - maybe for a furure review)

Selfridges is an old, huge store.Its full name is Selfridges and Co.

HISTORY

The store was originally opened by Gordon Selfridge. born in the USA he worked for Marshall Field (a chain which still operates in the US). He opened a dept store in the US and sold it for a big profit. He then moved to London, and wantred to take on a new project. In 1909 he opened Selfridges on Oxford St, costing £400,000 (a lot in those days). The store had it's own soda fountain and a 'Silence Room' where a sign read "Ladies will refrain from conversation!". The first item sold was a handkerchief to Madame Barry of Bond Street. The type of customer may not have changed that much!

The store changed hands several times. It was hit by an IRA bomb in the 70's and developed an offshoot mini store (Miss Selfridge!) This chain now has nothing to do with Selfridges and is owned by Arcadia (owner fo Topshop / Burton etc...)

In the early 90's it was a shabby store and was really going downhill. Towards the mid 90's a new plan was unveiled to toally overhall it and after years of works we now have a huge glitzy store which is visited my millions of people every year. The design is amazing, and has been developed by famous store designers such as Ron Arad and Future Systems.

SO WHAT CAN I BUY?

Its huge and you can get almost everything. That said, Harrods is bigger and you cant get white goods (fridges and wahsing machines) and Ive noticed their lighting section is small. Otherwise, its got everything!

BASEMENT LEVEL

This has some of the best bits in my humble opinion.

Technology Hall
Wow, I could spend all day here. Here you can get all the latest gadgets incl Hi Fi's and TV's Dont expect any bargains, but they sell all the high end brands. The staff know what they are talking about, and the range of pretty comprehensive. There is a branch of Micro Anvika (excellent cumputer seller and has all the Ipod accessories you'd ever want) Carphone Warehouse and HMV on this level.

Books
Pretty decent book dept, with a huge section on architecture and travel. It sometimes have special offers.

MUJI
A branch of the simplicity orientated Japanese shop.

Household items
Kitchenwear (amazing selection of pots and pans and gadgets Petstore
Oriental
Classics
Chinawear
Luggage
Shoe Repairs

BA Travel Shop
An excellent travel agent. However BA are closing down all their travel shops in August so this may be going too. I wonder if they are planning to replace it with another travel agent??

GROUND FLOOR

The grand entrance leads to the large Perfume area. Its huge and I guess there isnt much you wont be able to find in here. This room is flanked by premium brand 'mini-stores' such as Prada, Louis Vitton and Prada.

FOOD HALL
The ground floor houses the excellent food hall. Its not as grand as the Harrods one, but it has an excellent (expensive) selection of day to day goods, as well as Indian, Chinese, Medeterranian, Mezze, Fish and Meat counters. There is a kosher section, fruit and veg and a great chocolate area.

On this floor there is also..
WHSMITH - Excellent mag section - much more comprehensive than your average High St Smiths
Stationary - every pen, card, notepad you'd ever want
Younger female fashions - eg Oasis
Watches (2 areas, expensive and very expensive!)
Sunglasses
Flowers

1ST FLOOR

This must house one of the largest mens cloting depts Ive ever seen. Divided into 4 areas;

1 - Formal (eg Ted Baker suits, Versache suits)
2 - Smart Casual Brands eg Hackett
3 - Superbrands - extremely exclusive bizarre clothing
4 - Casual wear (eg Carhart, FCUK, Jeans depts)
Not cheap, but has a lot. The staff are variable, depending on which consession yuo are in.

Sports
Sells all manner of sportswear, gym equipment and has a full on cycle shop

2ND and 3RD Floor
Womens clothing. I must apologise, I really dont know this area!

GOING UP TO THE TOP
Towards the top of the store you have;

Pharmacy - Have a full on pharmacy with a prescription service.
Beds
Bedding
Furniture - a decent range of top end companies, not as comprehenive as John Lewis or Harrods
Chilrens clothes and toys (really amzing layout here!)

BARS AND RESTAURANTS

So many! There are countless bars (eg Moet Bar), snack bars, full on restaurants and a department stylee buffet restaurant on the top floor. In the food hall there are numerous places to snack. These include Square Pie (excellent pie chain) EAT (sandwqiches) and Yo Sushi. There is also a Starbucks near the flower dept. You wont need to go hungry.

OTEHR SERVICES / BITS YOU NEED TO KNOW

They offer a delivery serivce (for a charge)
There is a wedding list service (new)
There is a twice yearly sale (which is very good)
There is a male hair salon
Dont miss the frequent themed events. The best I have seen was about 2 years ago when they had a Bollywood event, the store was decked out in Bollywood theme with shows, music, special food and offers. Was totally tacky, but amazing! Ive also been there when they had their punk theme. There were bands which were EXTREMELY noisy, thought the china was gonna shatter! Maybe Im getting a bit middle aged!

OPENING HOURS

One of the advantages of the store. It often closes very late. I wont list the times as they are always changing.Bu htey are listed on the website. It often closes at 8.00, sometimes later.

THE SELFRIDGE HOTEL

Attached to the store, the hotel is actually owned by the mediocre Thistle hotel chain. It has mixed reviews on Tripadvisor.com (see my other review on this site!)

FUTURE PLANS

The store does have plans to redevelop the hotel and expand! Not sure what else it needs! I dont think they are flanning any more stores elsewhere at present.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER STORES?

Yes I know this is a review about the whole chain rather than the Oxford St branch alone. I havent been to the Manchester stores, but have frequented the B'ham store. Set in a furutistic silver pod, the store is much smaller but very stylish and probably less stressful than it's sister London store! I have read that it wasnt doing that well initially , and has had to alter the range slightly to meet regional variations. The food hall is great, and its worth visiting just for the architecture. Let me know what you think about the Manchester stores!

TO CONCLUDE

Ok, well thats it. Im sure Ive missed a lot out as its too huge a store to be comprehensive about. It is also evolving and depts often move and change, so this may go out of date quickly.

All in all, its a bit of a nightmare store, and too expensive for most (myself included). However, if you love shopping (unlike me) or are a tourist in London, this is a must!

WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY £1000 ?

Ive still got quite a bit left but I have bought

- expensive luggage
- paid for a lot of my forthcomin holiday via the BA travel shop
- a watch
- new pans
- lots of nice food from the food hall
- a tv tuner for my computer
- some clothes
- a chopping board
- some books

Cheers, hope this is helpful!

www.selfridges.com - for opening times and tel numbers

Oxford St, London (near Bond St)
Trafford centre, Manchester
Exchange Sq, Manchester
Bull Ring, Birmingham