How Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani plans to revive British toy store chain Hamley’s
- Ambani bought Hamleys in 2019 to strengthen his retail footprint as part of the ongoing transformation of his oil and chemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries
- Hamleys, a British retail icon that hasn’t made a profit for a number of years, plans to quadruple its outlets in India to more than 500 in three years despite the pandemic
Ambani, 63, bought Hamleys in 2019 to strengthen his retail footprint as part of the ongoing transformation of his oil and chemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries into a consumer and technology behemoth. The deep pockets of Asia’s richest man and India’s demographics could help breathe new life into Hamleys, whose share of global toy sales was estimated at 0.6 per cent last year by Euromonitor International, and see it avert the pitfalls faced by rivals such as Toys R Us.
With a backer whose net worth is US$72 billion, Hamleys is seeking to tap into what it sees as an inadequately serviced section of India’s almost 1.4 billion people, of which about 27 per cent are children under 14. The country accounts for just 1 per cent of the US$90 billion global toy industry, meaning the potential for growth is high, Mehta said.
“There is a lot of headroom and India is no way near saturation,” Mehta said. “We are now mulling how we can roll out stores in newer geographies and new formats.”
Hamleys stores are famed for the carnival-like experience, allowing children to race toy cars, enjoy model train sets and play various games. In a country like India, with its densely packed cities and limited entertainment options, such an environment could be a hook to get customers to visit again. Product prices appealing to buyers of modest means as well as the super-rich make Hamleys an “elastic brand”, Mehta said.