Toys Store Biography
Hamleys is one of the world's best-known retailers of toys. Its flagship store in London is the world's largest toy store. Located on Regent Street, it is considered one of the city's major tourist attractions, receiving around five million visitors per year. The chain has six other outlets in the United Kingdom and others worldwide.Unlike many companies using possessive names, Hamleys intentionally forgoes the use of an apostrophe in its name.[1]The company was purchased by the French toy retailer Groupe Ludendo in September 2012.[2] It had previously been owned by Baugur Group, which purchased Hamleys in 2003 for £58.7 million. When Baugur collapsed, control switched to the Icelandic nationalised bank Landsbanki, until it was sold to Groupe Ludendo.
Hamleys is named after William Hamley, who founded a toy shop called 'Noah's Ark' at No. 231, High Holborn, in London in 1760. A branch at No. 200, Regent Street, was opened in 1881; the Holborn branch was destroyed by fire in 1901 and was relocated to Nos. 86–87, High Holborn.[3]
In 1938, Queen Mary, the consort of King George V, gave Hamleys a royal warrant. During the Second World War, the Regent Street store was bombed five times. In 1955, Queen Elizabeth II gave the company a second royal warrant as a "toys and sports merchant".
Hamleys was bought in June 2003 by Baugur Group, an investment company in Iceland. When Baugur collapsed, its stake in the toy store was taken over by the Icelandic bank Landsbanki. In September 2012 Groupe Ludendo, a toy retailer based in France with shops also located in Belgium, Spain and Switzerland, bought Hamleys for a reported £60 million.[2]
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