Harvey Nichols robbed

Smash and grab thieves strike again at the London department store.

The so-called smash and grab scooter thieves have stolen hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of jewellery from the London branch of Harvey Nichols.

According to police reports, a motorcycle gang of six robbers targeted the Garrard jewellery boutique on the ground floor of the luxury Knightsbridge department store at around 1.30am yesterday morning. Police said that three of the men used a sledgehammer to shatter the glass door entrance on Sloane Street, before smashing the glass jewellery cabinets and taking off with the stolen goods.

A company spokesperson said, "Harvey Nichols can confirm that an incident took place at approximately 1.30am yesterday morning concerning the Garrard boutique in-store. We are co-operating fully with police in their inquiries."

The suspects are believed to be part of a notorious London gang, known as Fagin's Kitchen, which is also thought to be responsible for a similar attack at an Anya Hindmarch store last week, as well as other luxury designer stores, including Mulberry, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Gucci and Cartier over the past few years.

The news overshadows a number of exciting announcements by the company this week. Plans, which have been in the pipeline for a year, were revealed yesterday for a major overhaul of the Knightsbridge flagship's fourth floor this August, which will see it transformed into a contemporary fashion emporium housing brands such as Alexander Wang, Les Chiffoniers, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Marc by Marc Jacobs, which is due to open in February 2010.

What's more, Joseph Wan, chief executive of Harvey Nichols, said that the company would also consider catering for a younger consumer in the 15 to 21-year-old age group, whose disposable income is less affected by the recession. He announced that talks are under way to expand the predominantly leisurewear brands on the third floor, which currently holds Juicy Couture, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel and Dsquared2, to cater for the younger shopper's needs. He also revealed that the company was "in the early stages" of creating its own-label collection of women's and men's clothes, shoes and leather goods, plus the possibility of a further three Harvey Nichols stores opening worldwide.

Picture: Dress from the Alexander Wang spring/summer 2009 collection, available from Harvey Nichols.

harveynichols.com