Presently, the presence of Reliance Industries-owned Hamleys in North America is limited to Mexico only which is slated to expand in the coming years
August 23, 2019
Reliance Brands is seeking to start Hamleys toy stores in US and Canada. With this strategy of expansion, the company is aiming to capitalise on the vacuum created by the liquidation of one the world’s largest toy store chain Toys R Us.
Hamleys has recently attained the milestone of having 100 stores in India, with the store launch at MGF Metropolitan Mall, Gurugram. Reliance Brands, a subdivision of Reliance Industries, had acquired the British-origin toy store chain from Chinese fashion conglomerate C Banner International for around Rs 620 crore in the month of May this year. The first store in South Asia and in the country was started in Mumbai in the year 2010 at Phoenix Mills.
The toy retail giant is known worldwide for an incredibly wide range of toys. It has presence in 36 cities in the country and had the store count of 50 stores till the end of 2018 which is now doubled up even before the end of FY 2019..
Darshan Mehta, President and CEO, Reliance Brands, said, “By March 2020, we will open 150 stores. The Indian market has the potential to hold 500 Hamleys stores. The only challenge is the mall infrastructure.”
The company is in discussions with several of the world’s largest toymakers for doubling the Hamleys’ business in India in two years. Currently, Hamleys has its stores in Mexico only in the North American region.
“What worked for us is tweaking the mix of products at our stores according to their locations. For instance, in our store in Dwarka in the capital, the average unit value of toys is around Rs 650, while in Khan Market, a tonier neigbourhood, we have kept the average unit price at Rs 1,400,” Mehta further averred.
Hamleys operates 100 stores in India, and incidentally, India is the country having the largest number of Hamleys stores worldwide. Presently, the Reliance-owned Hamleys has around 200 stores globally and with the tagline ‘the finest toy shop in the world’, Hamleys enjoys a massive reach around the globe.
