Senior Correspondent, IndianRetailer.com & Retailer Magazine Apr 18, 2019 / 3 MIN READ
Reliance Retail, an arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Hamleys, the UK-based toymaker.
Presently, Hamleys is owned by Chinese fashion conglomerate C Banner International. It had acquired Hamleys for £100 million in 2015.
The toymaker began with a single-store shop, Noah’s Ark, in 1760. It reported losses of £12 million in 2017, when it last posted its financials.
Reliance Retail already has a pan-India franchise agreement with Hamleys for merchandising its famous toys. If the deal goes through, Reliance Retail is planning to increase the toymaker’s geographic footprint in India.
Globally, Hamleys has around 129 stores, a large majority of which are under the franchise model. Apart from the UK, the brand has a presence in China, Germany, Russia, India, South Africa and the Middle East, among other regions.
This expansion reflects Tira's strategic move to extend its reach beyond Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Pune, thereby catering to beauty enthusiasts across diverse regions of India.
The Chennai store introduces innovative features such as the Fragrance Finder, leveraging personal preferences to recommend scents for a personalized match.
The store has partnered with a non-profit organization to enable customers to donate old clothes, which will be used for community programs.
The agreed-upon consideration for the intellectual property is £40.0 million, resulting in Superdry PLC receiving gross cash proceeds of £30.4 million (approximately £28.3 million net of fees and taxes) from RBUK.
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