Annalise Fard
Senior Director of Beauty, Accessories, Fine Jewellery & Watches, Harrods
& Co-Chair of The Fragrance Foundation UK
Annalise Fard is the Director of Beauty, Home and Fine Jewellery & Watches at Harrods. She works to elevate the store’s position in these categories and to ensure they host a world-class luxury offering of products and brands.
Annalise began her Harrods career in 1997 as a Senior Buyer’s Clerk for Furniture. She stayed at Harrods until 2002, during which time she was Buyer for Beauty, before joining American spa brand Bliss. During her five years at Bliss, Annalise led the global wholesale division and gained extensive international experience, with her time divided between London and New York.
In 2007, Annalise returned to Harrods and was promoted to director of Home and Beauty in 2013 and took on the additional role of director of Fashion Accessories and Fine Jewellery and Watches in 2018.
Under Annalise’s direction, beauty at Harrods has been transformed, with the Sixth Floor becoming dedicated to luxury fragrance in the form of Salon de Parfums, the launch of The Hair & Beauty Salon on the Fifth Floor and The Wellness Clinic launching on the Fourth Floor. In 2019, Annalise oversaw the re-development of The Beauty Halls, further elevating the world class offering and expanding the beauty division at Harrods to nearly 90,000sq ft across five floors. In recent years, Annalise has been at the helm of a shift in the industry, bringing Harrods most sought-after beauty brands to a wider UK audience through five standalone H beauty stores.
Why are you involved in the Fragrance Foundation UK?
Fragrance has played a very significant role in my life for twenty years and ultimately I’m extremely passionate about this wonderful and very dynamic industry. Working so closely with the Fragrance Foundation UK has opened my eyes up to so many opportunities. Personally experiencing many of the learning channels the Foundation offers, has taught me to smell and therefore retail fragrances in a totally different way. Meeting new charities and understanding the emotional effects ‘scent memories’ has driven a desire to impact lives in a different way. Working so closely with many more industry experts has further motivated me to highlight the important work all of our members do on a daily basis.
Why do you love Fragrance?
I simply love Fragrance for it’s pure ability to evoke visuals, feelings and thoughts anywhere in the world.
What is your Scent Memory?
Although many find the smell a little unusual, I adore the smell of chrysanthemums – it takes me back to being six years old and helping my Grandad pick the chrysanthemums he’d grown in his garden for my Nana.