New Hamleys store brings joy to the North
Published: 20 July, 2009
Hamleys is one of the world's biggest top shops and one of the UK's most famous brands. The London store which has been trading for more than 250 years, has remained the only standalone store with the full offering, despite a growing number of aitport shops and a brief dalliance with concession stores. That is, until now.
From October, customers will no longer have to travel to the capital to get their Hamleys fix as the toy maker is opening a store at the newly refurbished St Enoch centre in Glasgow. While chief executive Gudjon Reynisson is eager to avoid diluting the brand by expanding too far and too fast, he is also aware that in order to grow the business, he needs to expand Hamleys’ geographical footprint. And he feels Glasgow is the ideal place to start.
“We’ve decided to grow the brand outside the comfort of the central London tourist destination,” explains Reynisson. “Hamleys Regent Street is one of the most frequented tourist spots in London, so it’s a big part of the brand. Glasgow city centre is maybe the only location outside of central London that has footfall figures that are close to what we see here. It’s a big strategic decision for Hamleys to open a large standalone store outside of central London.”
It certainly is a fine line for Hamleys to tread. On one hand, the business cannot grow if Reynisson and his team are unwilling to open too many more stores. On the other, Hamleys Oxford Street still thrives because it continues to dazzle children with its magical labyrinthine qualities – opening a store in every city would surely dilute the quality? This is one of the reasons Reynisson, who took over the reins in March 2008, decided to pull the plug on its House of Fraser concession stores – to concentrate on opening large standalone stores in the UK. “We don’t believe that concessions in department stores do the brand justice,” explains Reynisson.
At present the expansion plan is four-pronged – opening of large (25,000-30,000 sq ft) stores in regions of the UK and Ireland; international expansion of similar format stores in key locations in key markets; expansion of the travel format and lastly, driving sales through the website. Finding the right franchise partners for international stores is absolutely crucial, says Reynisson. “You need a partner who understands the market: it just makes business sense,” he explains.
The store at St Enoch is not the first store in a shopping centre to figure prominently in Reynisson’s expansion plans. Hamleys also opened a store in Dundrum, Dublin last year which has proved to be hugely popular. “It’s a fantastic centre and we’re really happy with the performance of the store even though it’s tough in Ireland now.” However, these two new openings are not the beginning of a mass expansion plan, says Icelandic born Reynisson. “In the UK and Ireland our plan is three to four stores maximum and the strategy is to target these regional capital cities.” It is no big secret that Hamleys is eyeing Cardiff closely as the destination for its next retail location and with the success of Dundrum and now St Enoch, could a store in the St David’s 2 mall opening this autumn be on the cards? Only time will tell.
