73-468: The Dennis Javelin (later known as the Alexander Dennis Javelin ) was an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Dennis and later Alexander Dennis . It was unveiled in 1986 and acted more or less as a modern replacement for the discontinued Bedford Y series . It also supplanted the heavier Dennis Dorchester . While proving a success, it has never matched its nearest rival,
146-521: A "landmark transaction". A spokesman for Mohamed Al-Fayed said "in reaching the decision to retire, [Fayed] wished to ensure that the legacy and traditions that he has built up in Harrods would be continued." Al-Fayed later revealed in an interview that he decided to sell Harrods following the difficulty in getting his dividend approved by the trustees of the Harrods pension fund. Al-Fayed said "I'm here every day, I can't take my profit because I have to take
219-510: A 6-cylinder Cummins engine mounted forward of the axle. Previous models had used Gardner engines. The fire engineering division was closed and requirements contracted out to Carmichael in Worcester. At this time Dennis claimed 65 per cent of the fire engine market. John Dennis of the founders' family, previously coach and truck sales manager, left and set up John Dennis Coachbuilders to build complete fire engine bodies. The remaining business
292-466: A change of name of Harrods Limousine Ltd, which had been registered at Companies House since 14 November 2007. The application went un-defended by the respondent and the adjudicator ordered on 16 January 2009 that Harrods Limousine Ltd must change their name within one month. Additionally the respondent was ordered not to cause or permit any steps to be taken to register another company with an offending name which could interfere, due to its similarity, with
365-530: A double-deck Lance and single-deck Lancet. The Dennis Ace, a smaller twenty-seater bus was brought into production in 1933 using the chassis of Dennis's small lorry. The Arrow Minor followed in 1935 and a new Falcon chassis in 1938. John and Raymond Dennis built 223 houses for their workers, 102 of them on a 20 acres estate in Woodbridge Hill for their Coventry motor workers who brought production of White & Poppe engines to Guildford in 1933. The area took on
438-794: A former Minister of Aviation, joined the board as did a new CEO and a new finance director. The workforce of 1,300 was cut by 150, mostly white-collar workers. A banker was added to the directorate. At King's suggestion Dennis Motor Holdings , was formed on 15 January 1970 as a holding company with all part-time directors. In June the chairman announced much greater losses in the subsequent half year but he remained optimistic. They listed their products as: commercial vehicles, fire engines, refuse collection vehicles and aircraft tractors. In 1971/72, Dennis sold 101 houses in Slyfield 's Woking Road and in Midleton Road, Dennisville . In March 1972 Hestair made
511-481: A horizontally mounted diesel engine and Paxit all-enclosed mechanical rear-loading refuse-collection vehicles. Rolls-Royce diesel engines replaced Dennis petrol engines in the fire engines during 1951. New show vehicles in 1952 included a 5½ litre Centaur chassis with platform body, a Pax chassis with tipping gear and a lightweight body and the Stork chassis. The AV1, a new diesel ambulance chassis, returned ambulances to
584-668: A new 125,000 square foot Dennis Eagle plant on the Heathcote Industrial Estate in Warwick opened, taking over the building of Dennis municipal vehicle chassis and the matching Eagle bodies. Construction of chassis for buses and coaches as well as fire appliances remained at Guildford but that factory lost 600 jobs. Building of fire appliance bodies was moved to Carmichael Fire in Worcester and all cabs to Duple at Blackpool . The re-organisation cost around £4 million covered by
657-508: A number of hands. The Woodbridge site was sold and a new small factory built in Slyfield remains in use by lineal business descendant, bus-maker Alexander Dennis . No Dennis haulage trucks have been built since 1985. The last Dennis fire engine left the Guildford factory in 2007. The Dennis brand is still used on Alexander Dennis buses, Dennis Eagle dustcarts and Dennis mowers. Dennis Brothers
730-415: A permission of those bloody idiots. I say is this right? Is this logic? Somebody like me? I run a business and I need to take the trustee's permission to take my profit." Al-Fayed was appointed honorary chairman of Harrods, a position he held for six months. The store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m ) site and has over one million square feet ( 90,000 m ) of selling space in over 330 departments making it
803-434: A personal shopping-assistance programme known as "By Appointment"; a watch repair service; a tailor; a dispensing pharmacy; a beauty spa and salon; a barbers shop; Ella Jade Bathroom Planning and Design Service; private events planning and catering; food delivery; a wine steward; bespoke picnic hampers and gift boxes; bespoke cakes; bespoke fragrance formulations; and Bespoke Arcades machines. Up to 300,000 customers visit
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#1732884510536876-577: A private company prior to the group's relisting on the London Stock Exchange . Following denial that it was for sale, Harrods was sold to Qatar Holdings , the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar in May 2010. A fortnight previously, chairman of Harrods since 1985, Mohamed Al-Fayed , had stated that "People approach us from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Fair enough. But I put two fingers up to them. It
949-490: A record profit in the process. In short order, a new building was built on the same site, and soon Harrods extended credit for the first time to its best customers, among them Oscar Wilde , Lillie Langtry , Ellen Terry , Charlie Chaplin , Noël Coward , Gertrude Lawrence , Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh , Sigmund Freud , A. A. Milne , and many members of the British Royal Family . Beatrix Potter frequented
1022-478: A significant block of shareholders dissatisfied with the performance of their business asked that Dennis Brothers cease production and liquidate its assets. The disputes ended when the rebels were unable to find a buyer for the Dennis business at an acceptable price. Major changes were made to management and to the directorate. The following year turnover grew again and profits seemed to have made improvement. New capital
1095-527: A successful takeover bid for Dennis Motor Holdings. It took effect in May 1972. With Dennis came 35 acres of sprawling red brick factory on the Guildford by-pass. Hestair announced it intended to sell surplus land. Hestair was a new industrial investment vehicle managed by David Hargreaves. It had purchased street sweeper bodybuilder Yorkshire Vehicles and dustcart bodybuilder Eagle Engineering in 1971. Hestair's other interests were agricultural engineering, toys and employment bureaux. Dennis Motor Holdings
1168-426: A thriving retail operation selling medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruits and vegetables. Harrods rapidly expanded, acquired the adjoining buildings, and employed one hundred people by 1881. However, the store's booming fortunes were reversed in early December 1883, when it burnt to the ground. Remarkably, Charles Harrod fulfilled all of his commitments to his customers to make Christmas deliveries that year—and made
1241-523: A wholesale grocery in Stepney at 4 Cable Street with a special interest in tea. Attempting to capitalise on trade during the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park , in 1849 Harrod took over a small shop in the district of Brompton , on the site of the current store. Beginning in a single room employing two assistants and a messenger boy, Harrod's son Charles Digby Harrod built the business into
1314-624: Is not for sale. This is not Marks and Spencer or Sainsbury's . It is a special place that gives people pleasure. There is only one Mecca." The sale was concluded in the early hours of 8 May, when Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani came to London to finalise the deal, saying that the acquisition of Harrods would add "much value" to the investment portfolio of Qatar Holdings while his deputy, Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla, called it
1387-626: The Rodboro Buildings . This was the first purpose-built motor vehicle factory in Britain. Their range of cars was quickly extended to 12 hp, 14 hp, 16 and 20 hp chassis fitted with tourer, town car and limousine bodies. From the Dennis Brothers stand at the 1903 Crystal Palace Motor Show the brothers sold almost £30,000 worth of cars and took many more orders. Larger models followed their first light cars. A 35 hp model in 1906
1460-723: The UVW union , which claimed that 483 affected employees were losing up to £5,000 each in tips every year. A surprise protest and roadblock organised by the union outside Harrods during the January sales of 2017 was followed by an announcement that "an improved tronc system" would give 100% of service charges to staff. Twenty female former staff members alleged that during Al Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene, but helped cover up his sexual abuse of young staff members, including multiple rapes or attempted rapes. The first report of abuse arose in 1985 soon after Al Fayed took ownership of
1533-477: The goodwill of the applicant. Finally, Harrods Limousine Ltd was ordered to pay Harrods' costs for the litigation. Following the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales , and Dodi Fayed , Mohamed Al-Fayed's son, two memorials to the couple commissioned by Al-Fayed were erected inside Harrods. The first, located at the base of the Egyptian Escalator, was unveiled on 12 April 1998, consisting of photographs of
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#17328845105361606-641: The 300 series and 425 Integral followed parts and service to Plaxton later. Plaxton took the Duple sites in London, Blackpool and Glasgow to enlarge their spares and repairs network. Dennis and Duple had developed the Dart , a midibus bought by London Transport as a one-man operated bus to replace their AEC Routemasters . At the end of 1989 Dart bodywork production moved from the closed Duple to Carlyle Works in Birmingham. The Dart
1679-416: The Dennis product line-up during 1954. The next year an updated heavy fire engine chassis received Rolls-Royce fully automatic gearboxes. They were not yet in production but Dennis revealed their plans for new Loline model doubledeck buses at the end of 1956. Built with Dennis components they used a patented Bristol Lodekka chassis. The Dennis version was for the independent section of the market Bristol
1752-414: The Harrods group of companies, including Harrods Estates , Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods . Recognised as one of the world's leading department stores, it is visited by 15 million people per year. The store occupies a 5-acre (2 ha) site and has 330 departments covering 1.1 million sq ft (100,000 m ) of retail space. It is one of the largest and most famous department stores in
1825-460: The Iraqis with him were hanged. He was not released until February 1988. Phoenix was added as a brand name to all Dennis Eagle refuse collectors during 1978. The Delta 1600 series trucks were launched, middleweight 16 tonne vehicles for tipper and haulage applications. In February 1983, Hestair Dennis purchased Duple Coachbuilders . Between the two Hestair could produce complete vehicles with
1898-535: The National Cycle Show this car was never put into production. After incorporating Dennis Brothers Limited, in which they were given generous financial support by local cyclists and potential motorists, the brothers began car production around 1901. John Dennis built a 30,000 square foot three storey plus basement building in Onslow Street in the centre of Guildford with a lift between floors later known as
1971-514: The Vehicle Division, led the management buyout and was appointed chairman and CEO. The stated intention was to relist the Dennis group back on the London Stock Exchange . Hestair Specialist Vehicles Limited was renamed Specialist Vehicles Limited on 7 March 1989. Duple Coachbuilders was closed down in July 1989 with 350 jobs lost. The parts and service business went to Plaxton , production of
2044-421: The ability to sell back gold to Harrods in the future. Harrods used to provide paid "luggage room" services for storing luggage/ items; however, post COVID they stopped providing this service. Harrods and Mohamed Al-Fayed were criticised for selling real animal fur, provoking regular protests organised outside Harrods. Harrods is the only department store in Britain that has continued to sell fur. Harrods
2117-486: The basis for Winnie-the-Pooh . In December 1926, Agatha Christie , who visited Harrods as a girl, marvelled at the spectacle of the store's Christmas display . The store has also featured in fiction, for example Mr. Bean (played by Rowan Atkinson ) visited Harrods to buy Christmas decorations in the 1992 Mr. Bean episode " Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean ". A chance meeting in London with businessman, Edgar Cohen , eventually led to Charles Harrod selling his interest in
2190-1026: The biggest department store in Europe. The UK's second-biggest shop, Selfridges, Oxford Street , is a little over half the size with 540,000 square feet (50,000 m ) of selling space. By comparison Europe's second-largest department store the KaDeWe in Berlin has a retail space of 650,000 square feet (60,000 m ). The shop's 330 departments offer a wide range of products and services. Products on offer include clothing for women, men, children and infants, electronics, jewellery, sporting gear, bridal trousseau , pet accessories, toys (including Christmas and signature teddy bears), food and drink, health and beauty items, packaged gifts, stationery, housewares, home appliances, furniture, and much more. A representative sample of shop services includes 23 restaurants, serving everything from high tea to tapas to pub food to haute cuisine ;
2263-430: The business may be gauged from the regular expansions on their new site at Woodbridge Hill on the outskirts of Guildford — in 1907, 1910, 1912 and 1913. In 1913 Dennis Brothers moved their main operations to a new much larger building of almost four acres on the twelve-acre site at Woodbridge leaving their purpose-built Onslow Street premises solely for repairs. In March 1913 the investing public learnt that Dennis Brothers
Dennis Javelin - Misplaced Pages Continue
2336-459: The buyer to release the vehicle to the War Office in time of war. Materials had been ordered but no subvention lorries completed when the situation changed. After August 1914's outbreak of hostilities production was reduced to the subvention type 3-ton military lorries, now supplied directly to the War Office, and the Dennis turbine fire engine. The Ministry of Munitions took complete control of
2409-533: The clock and the number of workers doubled to 4,000. British Road Services , Britain's state-owned road haulage operator, didn't buy any trucks from Dennis. New products were developed but were not attractive to BRS. The suppliers to BRS were prospering, Leyland , AEC and Foden's technical advances and greater truck experience let them build even better buses to compete with Dennis buses. Only Dennis's light Pax trucks sold well and they went to businesses still permitted to run their own short-distance transport. Yet
2482-407: The code and barred from entry include pop star Kylie Minogue , Jason Donovan , Luke Goss , a Scout troop , a woman with a Mohican hair cut , and the entire first team from FC Shakhtar Donetsk who were wearing tracksuits. As of 2023, Harrods takes the following position: "We do not have a specific dress code for entry into the store, including any of our restaurants. However, we do reserve
2555-414: The company's buses and fire engines remained in demand. The 1940s and 1950s still managed to be Dennis's best years. The 1950s saw the introduction of diesel engines and automatic transmissions and bus engines were moved below floors to increase carrying capacity. After the war bus production began again. 1950 introductions were a passenger chassis named Dominant with a semi-automatic transmission and
2628-497: The device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a mahogany and "silver plate-glass" balustrade. Nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to revive them after their 'ordeal'. The department store was acquired by House of Fraser in 1959, which in turn was purchased by the Fayed brothers in 1985. In 1994, Harrods was moved out of the House of Fraser Group to remain
2701-629: The final scene of Unlawful Killing , a film funded by Al-Fayed and directed by Keith Allen . Asma al-Assad , the wife of the President of Syria , Bashar al-Assad , used an alias to shop at Harrods despite economic sanctions imposed by the European Union that froze funds belonging to her and her husband. Harrods has been criticised by Guardian journalist Sali Hughes as "deeply sexist" for making female employees wear six kinds of makeup at all times without requiring this of male employees. Harrods
2774-451: The fluctuations of demand experienced by the overall economy. Buyers tend to replace them at fixed periods so there is an element of longer term planning. While it is a relatively small market it is stable. Motor mowers were added in 1922. White and Poppe in Coventry had always supplied engines for Dennis Brothers motor vehicles. A takeover had been under consideration before the war but it
2847-417: The hundreds. A timeline of sexual abuse allegations by current and former staff now exists while investigations continue. In 1986, the town of Ōtorohanga , New Zealand, briefly changed its name to "Harrodsville". This was a protest in support of a restaurateur, Henry Harrod of Palmerston North , who was being forced to change the name of his restaurant following the threat of lawsuits from Mohamed Al Fayed,
2920-491: The industrial tractor manufacturer Mercury Truck & Tractor Company , also Mercury Airfield Equipment that manufactured airport tugs and later baggage trailers and ground units, and Mercury Snow Control. Potential passenger customers preferred their new vehicles front-entrance and rear-engined and Dennis had no bus in production to meet those requirements. Dennis chose to end bus manufacture in 1965 and concentrate on lorries which also faced declining demand. In late 1965
2993-610: The legal action and Harrodsville and its shops reverted to their former names. The town's response raised widespread media interest around the world, with the BBC World Service and newspapers in Greece, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada covering the story. On 27 October 2008, in the case of Harrods Ltd v. Harrods Limousine Ltd , the Harrods store applied to the Company Names Tribunal under s.69(1)(b) Companies Act 2006 for
Dennis Javelin - Misplaced Pages Continue
3066-742: The likewise heavier Volvo B10M , but has had much more success than Dennis's previous coaching industry attempts: The Falcon V , the Lancet and Dorchester . Over 2,000 were produced, with 500 purchased by the Ministry of Defence . In 1996, Australian operator Fearne's Coaches , Wagga Wagga took delivery of four MotorCoach Australia bodied Javelins. New Zealand operator Ritchies Coachlines took delivery of nine Designline and Kiwi Bus Builders bodied Javelins between 1999 and 2005. [REDACTED] Media related to Dennis Javelin at Wikimedia Commons Dennis Specialist Vehicles Dennis Specialist Vehicles
3139-656: The name Dennisville. Both brothers died in 1939 and they are commemorated in the names of Dennisville's St John's Road and Raymond Crescent. During the Second World War the Ministry of Supply restricted Dennis to lorries and allocated bus production to Daimler and Guy . Over that period Dennis built some 3,000 6/8 ton capacity Max and 1,500 Pax 3-ton lorries, assembled 700 Churchill tanks , 17,000 engines for landing craft, 7,000 fire pumps, 750,000 bombs and 3,000 infantry carriers . Meanwhile, 'municipal vehicles' were built for military bases. The plant operated around
3212-535: The new Duple-developed integrated body-chassis units. Duple owned Duple Metsec in Tipton , suppliers of bus body kits for assembly overseas. Hestair Duple 425 was displayed in October 1984 and in production a year later powered by Cummins engines. On 10 December 1985 Hestair Dennis Limited was renamed Dennis Specialist Vehicles Limited and again on 3 February 1986 to Hestair Specialist Vehicles Limited . In late 1985
3285-531: The new brand name for marketing the municipal vehicles built by Dennis Motors, Eagle Engineering and Yorkshire Vehicles. Non-specialist truck production for general haulage resumed in 1974 after a break of two years. New rear-engined single-decker and double-decker buses were announced in August 1977 after a bus-building break of eleven years. At the time of the announcement the workforce was 875 and Dennis Motors remained Guildford's largest employer. The first new bus
3358-440: The right to refuse entry to anyone who is not deemed to be appropriately dressed. Sportswear, including trainers, shorts, and tracksuits, are permitted across all areas of the store and restaurants." Harrods was the holder of royal warrants from: In August 2010, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph , chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed revealed that he had burnt Harrods royal warrants , after taking them down in 2000. Harrods had held
3431-457: The royal warrants since 1910. Describing the warrants as a "curse", Al-Fayed claimed that business had tripled since their removal. Prince Philip removed his warrant in January 2000, and the other warrants were removed from Harrods by Al-Fayed in December, pending their five-yearly review. Prince Philip had been banned from Harrods by Al-Fayed. Film of the burning of the warrants in 2009 was shown in
3504-414: The sale of part of the original Dennis site. The Guildford workforce dropped from 700 to 400. Still one of Europe's largest builders of fire appliance chassis Dennis Specialist Vehicles was running at a loss. In the 1980s bus engines stayed beneath the floor but were moved as far back as possible to release luggage space. At the October 1986 Commercial Motor Show Dennis introduced its Javelin design using
3577-529: The shop on peak days, comprising the highest proportion of customers from non-English speaking countries of any department store in London. More than five thousand staff from over fifty different countries work at Harrods. In October 2009, Harrods Bank started selling gold bars and coins that customers could buy "off the shelf". The gold products ranged from 1 g to 12.5 kg , and could be purchased within Harrods Bank. They also offered storage services, as well as
3650-594: The store for £120,000 (equivalent to £16,753,448 in 2023) via a stock market flotation in 1889. The new company was called Harrod's Stores Limited. Sir Alfred James Newton became chairman and Richard Burbidge managing director. Financier William Mendel was appointed to the board in 1891 and he raised funding for many of the business expansion plans. Richard Burbidge was succeeded in 1917 by his son Woodman Burbidge and he in turn by his son Richard in 1935. On 16 November 1898, Harrods debuted England's first "moving staircase" ( escalator ) in their Brompton Road stores;
3723-511: The store from the age of 17. First published in 1902, her children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit , was soon on sale in Harrods, accompanied by the world's first licensed character , a Peter Rabbit soft toy (Peter and toys of other Potter characters appeared in Harrods catalogues from 1910). In 1921, Milne bought the 18-inch Alpha Farnell teddy bear from the store for his son Christopher Robin Milne who would name it Edward, then Winnie, becoming
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#17328845105363796-459: The store, when a 15-year-old girl alleged she had been inappropriately touched by him. This was dismissed by the Crown prosecution service when Al fayed denied the claim. Further female staff and ex-staff members have subsequently come forward to add their names to the growing list of workers reportedly abused by Al Fayed and his brother Salah, now being accused of similar activity, with allegations now in
3869-522: The then owner of Harrods department store. As a show of solidarity for Henry Harrod, and in anticipation of actions against other similar-sounding businesses, it was proposed that every business in Ōtorohanga change its name to "Harrods". With the support of the District Council, Ōtorohanga temporarily changed the town's name to Harrodsville. After being lampooned in the British tabloids, Al Fayed dropped
3942-711: The time, was president of the Association in 1930. In 1824, at the age of 25, Charles Henry Harrod established a business at 228 Borough High Street in Southwark . He ran this business, variously listed as a draper, mercer, and a haberdasher, until at least 1831. During 1825, the business was listed as 'Harrod and Wicking, Linen Drapers, Retail', but this partnership was dissolved at the end of that year. His first grocery business appears to be as 'Harrod & Co. Grocers' at 163 Upper Whitecross Street , Clerkenwell, E.C.1., in 1832. In 1834, in London's East End , he established
4015-401: The two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as what is described as an engagement ring Dodi purchased the day before they died. The second memorial, unveiled in 2005 and located by the escalator at door three is entitled Innocent Victims , a bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross,
4088-429: The whole business in 1915. New buildings were added to contain the manufacture of munitions. Following 1918's armistice there was a glut of war surplus vehicles and a consequent collapse in demand for new trucks. To try to compensate the Dennis product range was expanded into municipal vehicles — dustcarts (refuse collection), street cleaning vehicles, sewage tankers and pumps etc. Municipal vehicles do not suffer from
4161-631: The world. The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique , which is Latin for "all things for all people, everywhere". Several of its departments, including the Seasonal Christmas department, jewellery departments and the Food Halls , are well known. Harrods was also a founder of the International Association of Department Stores in 1928, which is still active today, and remained a member until 1935. Franck Chitham, Harrods' president at
4234-486: Was spring drive , a torsional shock absorber mounted at the input end of the drive line. Commercial vehicle activity increased. Their first was a van for Harrods in London . Dennis made its first bus in 1903 and their first fire engine in 1908 — for Bradford Council Fire Department. The last car was made in 1913 after the Dennis brothers saw there was less competition in the commercial vehicle market. The rate of growth of
4307-462: Was a manufacturer of motor-vans, motor-lorries, motor-fire-engines, motor-cars etc. The brothers' offer of shares to the public was substantially over-subscribed and Dennis Brothers Limited became a publicly listed company. Rising international tensions precipitated a major contract for supply of 1,000 3-ton "subsidy" lorries to private buyers on terms set by the War Office . Taking the subsidy obliged
4380-560: Was an English manufacturer of commercial vehicles based in Guildford , building buses , fire engines , lorries (trucks) and municipal vehicles such as dustcarts . All vehicles were made to order to the customer's requirements and more strongly built than mass production equivalents. For most of the 20th century the Dennis company was Guildford's main employer. Following a decade of financial difficulties original shareholders sold out in 1972 and Dennis's ownership has since passed through quite
4453-488: Was complementary to the existing range. On 31 December 1977 Dennis Motors Limited was renamed Hestair Dennis Limited . The former Dennis Motors business was renamed Hestair Dennis by August 1977. A Queen's Award for Export was received in 1978. In February 1980 John Smith, the managing director of Hestair Dennis, was jailed for life in Baghdad for paying "huge amounts for commercial deals and secret information". Four of
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#17328845105364526-563: Was criticised by members of the Black community after the Daily Telegraph reported that Harrods staff told a black woman that she would not be employed unless she chemically straightened her hair, stating that her natural hair style was "unprofessional". Harrods' restaurants and cafes included a 12.5% discretionary service charge on customers' bills, but failed to share the full proceeds with kitchen and service staff. Several employees joined
4599-634: Was followed by the Lance which used independent front suspension to allow a low floor halfway down the vehicle. Harrods Harrods is a British luxury department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London , England. It is owned by Harrods Ltd , a company currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund , the Qatar Investment Authority . The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by
4672-413: Was found for an expansion and modernisation programme and twelve months later the new chairman reported activities had been split into six clear-cut divisions and claimed they were "poised for recovery". The shareholders were faced with continuing losses. Responding to their invitation John King of Pollard Ball took up the challenge and accepted the position of chairman of the board. Julian Amery ,
4745-461: Was founded in 1895 by brothers John Cawsey Dennis (1871–1939) and (Herbert) Raymond Dennis (1878–1939) who made Speed King bicycles. They built the bicycles, initially from bought-in parts, and sold them from their shop, The Universal Athletic Stores, in High Street, Guildford . They made their first motor vehicle in 1898, and in 1899, their first car, The Dennis Light Doctor's Car . Though shown at
4818-485: Was not until April 1919 that it was made public Dennis Brothers and White and Poppe had agreed to an exchange of shares in each other's business. The swap gave Dennis Brothers the controlling interest in White and Poppe. Alfred White and Peter Poppe joined the Dennis Brothers board but it was not until March 1933 in the midst of the 1930s depression that engine production was transferred from Coventry to Guildford. One chassis
4891-414: Was powered by a White and Poppe engine. This power unit was soon fitted to all their vehicles. Until well into the early years of the twentieth century the back wheels of most vehicles were driven by a chain from each side of a differential fixed to the chassis frame. Dennis Brothers developed and patented a reliable worm drive into a differential mounted on the back axle. Another feature of that period
4964-407: Was renamed Dennis Motors Limited and with Eagle and Yorkshire Vehicles, managed as the Vehicle Division of Hestair Engineering. In June 1972 the manufacture of trucks for haulage ceased. In September Hestair sold Dennis' Mercury towing tractors and motor mowers to Marshalls (Halifax) and new plant was bought for the Guildford factory. Envec, an acronym for Environmental Vehicles, was chosen as
5037-666: Was sharply criticised in 2004 by the Hindu community for marketing a line of feminine underwear (designed by Roberto Cavalli ) which featured the images of Indian goddesses. The line was eventually withdrawn and formal apologies were made. In 1989, Harrods introduced a dress code for customers. The store turned away people whose dress is not in compliance with the code. Forbidden items include cycling shorts; high-cut shorts, Bermuda or beach shorts; swimwear; athletic singlets; flip flops or thong sandals; bare feet; bare midriff; or wearing dirty or unkempt clothing. Patrons found not in compliance with
5110-465: Was the Dominator with a double-deck body followed by more new buses named Jubilant , Dorchester , Lancet and Falcon . The Falcon chassis took either single or double-deck bodies. All these names belonged to previous successful Dennis models. A new range of fire appliances, the R series, went into production in 1976. A single specialist fire engine chassis on which modular body units could be mounted it
5183-489: Was the manufacture of chassis for fire appliances and public service vehicles. Almost all the 35-acre Woodbridge Hill site was sold. At the October 1988 Motor Show Dennis and Duple displayed their new Dennis Dart midibus. At the end of 1988 the Vehicle Division of Hestair Engineering comprised: Trinity Holdings, the management of the Vehicle Division of Hestair Engineering with the backing of banking institutions, bought Dennis from Hestair. Geoff Hollyhead, former head of
5256-530: Was unable to supply. During 1957 sales in both home and export markets fell. Demand for commercial vehicles did not recover after the Suez Crisis . The new Loline buses were in service and a variant new chassis was now available with front entry providing driver control of the door. In the 1960s engines moved to the back of the buses. In May 1962, Dennis bought the fire appliance division of Hawker Siddeley Group's Alfred Miles. In April 1964 Dennis purchased
5329-555: Was used for both lorries and buses. In the 1920s Dennis began to design and build separate chassis for their public service vehicles (buses) with a lower ride height. Pneumatic tyres were introduced. Forward control buses were added to their catalogue in the same decade. Export markets were developed between the wars, particularly vehicles for Hong Kong. The decade began with the Great Depression . Diesel engines were in demand for larger commercial vehicles. New Dennis buses were
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