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Selfridges

The store that invented the shop window as entertainment, at the end of Oxford Street nobody wanted.

Department storesLuxury

Selfridges on Oxford Street, the front of 1909. Photo by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Harry Gordon Selfridge arrived from Chicago and opened here in 1909, at what was then the wrong end of the street. He moved the perfume counter to the door so the smell reached the pavement, lit the windows after closing so the displays could be looked at all evening, and let people handle the stock instead of asking an assistant for it - all of which is now simply what a shop is. The building behind the Ionic columns is protected. Louis Bleriot's aeroplane was put on show here four days after he crossed the Channel, and eighty thousand people came to see it.

Where
400 Oxford Street, W1A 1AB
Nearest station
Bond Street · 3 min walk

Hours

Monday10:00 – 22:00
Tuesday10:00 – 22:00
Wednesday10:00 – 22:00
Thursday10:00 – 22:00
Friday10:00 – 22:00
Saturday10:00 – 21:00
Sunday11:30 – 18:00

Hours from the venue’s own website, checked 9 September 2026.

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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