Pursuits
Hamleys Toy Store Targets China as One-Child Limit Comes to End
- 75,000 square-feet Nanjing store marks start of China strategy
- International stores will leave London flagship ‘in the dust’
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The ending of China’s one-child policy presents an opportunity for toy stores, and under its new Chinese owners London’s Hamleys is determined to capitalize.
The retailer, famed for its 135-year-old flagship store on London’s Regent Street, plans a rapid expansion in the world’s most-populous nation, where it sees potential for more than 100 shops, according to Chief Executive Officer Gudjon Reynisson. After starting with an outlet in Nanjing this year, it will target more high-density cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Xuzhou and Hangzhou in 2017.