LONDON — Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, the Ritz in Paris and Fulham Football Club, died Friday at 94 years old.
“Everyone at Fulham was incredibly saddened to learn of the death of our former owner and chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed. We owe Mohamed a debt of gratitude for what he did for our club, and our thoughts now are with his family and friends at this somber time,” said Fulham FC in a statement on social media.
The Egyptian tycoon sold the football club in 2013, shortly after parting with Harrods in 2010, ending his 25-year reign at the luxury department store by selling the landmark British retailer to Qatar Holding, an investment company linked to the royal family of the Gulf state, for 1.5 billion pounds, or $2.27 billion at current exchange, including about 600 million pounds, or $906 million, in property-backed debt.
Queen Elizabeth II with Mohamed Al Fayed.
Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
He sold Fulham FC to the U.S. automotive billionaire Shahid Khan, owner of the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Al-Fayed had owned Fulham for 16 years.
None of Al Fayed’s four living children — his son Dodi died in the 1997 car crash that killed Princess Diana — were involved in the day-to-day operations of the family businesses. Ironically, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed also died on what is Labor Day weekend in the U.S.
When Al Fayed bought Harrods in 1985, the Egyptian retailer had spent an estimated 400 million pounds, or $592 million, to transform what was a staid, tired store into an unapologetically opulent retail experience — but not without controversy and missteps.
Al Fayed’s management style could at best be described as mercurial, and he went through a string of managers who lasted about as long as his whims. He would walk the store regularly and ask for things to be changed, only to then later ask why something was done. He brought a showman’s hand touch to Harrods — much to the shock of its more staid clientele — and the store seemed to prosper.
It certainly has under its current owners.
Harrods’ financial results for the 52-week period ending January 2023 showed the department store recording a 131.3 million pound increase in pretax profit, according to records from Companies House.
The company also had a 52 percent increase in turnover to 994.1 million pounds, a 339.9 million pound boost from the previous year.