Hamleys sold to Indian franchise partner

The iconic retailer marks Reliance Industries’, which is owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, first overseas acquisition.

Reliance Industries retail arm Reliance Retail operates Hamleys’ 88-strong retail estate in India. The business, which has made a name for itself as the leading telecoms business in the country, is now gearing up for a retail onslaught in a bid to take on the likes of Amazon and Walmart in India.

Reliance has acquired Hamleys from Chinese retail group C.banner, which has owned the toy retailer since 2015.

C.banner bought the retailer from French retail group Ludendo Groupe for £100m, prior to which Hamleys was owned by now-defunct Icelandic investment group Baugar.

Hamleys, which operates 167 stores across 18 countries, reported a £2.4m profit in 2018 after closing a number of loss-making stores across the UK, Ireland and Nordic countries in a bid to stem spiralling losses.

Reliance Brands chief executive Darshan Mehta said: “The worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand and business places Reliance into the front line of global retail. Over the last few years, we have built a very significant and profitable business in toy retailing under the Hamleys brand in India.”

Mehta added that the acquisition was “a long-cherished dream come true”.