Harrods Boss Calls on the UK Government To Reinstate VAT-free Shopping — Retail Bum

Britain’s abolition of VAT-free shopping two years ago continues to put luxury retailers in the country at a competitive disadvantage, according to Harrods Managing Director Michael Ward.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Ward noted that the policy deters tourists visiting Britain to make luxury purchases, which requires the department store chain to work a lot harder to source designer products that tourists cannot find elsewhere.

“If I’m going to buy a Christian Dior saddlebag for £2,000, why wouldn’t I buy it in Paris? We’ve got to make it up by being smarter in what we’re offering to that customer,” he said. “We want more exclusive products so that they can’t buy the same thing in Paris.”

Ward pointed out that it is all the more important for British retailers to secure exclusive merchandise now that China is lifting its travel ban.

Britain abolished VAT-free shopping in early 2021 for international shoppers — a policy that was briefly reversed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak but later re-abolished.

Ward called on the government to take steps to make the British luxury market more competitive against the rest of Europe and reinstate VAT-free shopping, which would bring billions in revenue from tourists.

“We’re competing against Europe, which has a very comprehensive tourism strategy and that is integrated across the whole of Europe. We need to be ahead of that,” he said.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on January 3, 2023.