// Hamleys new owner eyes new expansion plans and flagship revamp
// Reliance Industries acquired the British toy retailer in a £70m deal
// CEO says “we will do whatever it takes” to regenerate Regent Street store
Hamleys’ new owner has US expansion and a total redesign for its Regent Street flagship in its sights.
The world famous toy store was acquired by Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, via his company Reliance industries in May 2019.
READ MORE: India’s richest man is the new owner of Hamleys
Reliance acquired Hamleys from China’s C.banner International in a £70 million deal.
Now it seems expansion and a reinvigoration of its London store are on the cards.
In an interview with The Guardian, Reliance chief executive Darshan Mehta said it would be expanding Hamleys into major markets including the US.
Reliance will also redesign the Regent Street store, promising that within two years it will be the “toy retailing reference point in the world, whatever that takes”.
“We will do whatever it takes to make it [the Regent Street branch of Hamleys] the finest toy shop in the world,” Mehta told The Guardian.
Mehta also said sales at Hamleys were up on 2018’s results, adding that he didn’t think bricks and mortar retailing was over.
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