Hamleys opens Europe's largest toy store in Moscow

Hamleys, a UK based toy retailer opened its first store in Moscow. Spread over an area of 7,000 square metre, it is the biggest toy store across Europe. Presently, Hamleys has over 40 franchise stores overseas, primarily in India, northern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. 

Hamleys is bullish on accelerating its global expansion across other regions of Russia by opening more retail stores in the near future. Gudjon Reynisson, Chief Executive, Hamleys says, “We found Moscow in our global expansion radar as it is a growing market for toy retailing. We want to be one of the major players in toy retail sector in the Russian market in the upcoming years. International brands want to be associated with us as we give much more respect and reliability to our counterparts.”

Hamleys took its inception in 1881 on the famous Regent Street of London. However, the idea had been developed way before. In 1760, William Hamley dreamt of opening the best toy shop. His toys were inspired by the biblical legend of ‘Noah’s Ark’. Over the years, Hamleys has spread its foothold across the globe. Hamleys is known to be the oldest toy shop of the world. Its flagship store in London is considered one of the city's major tourist attractions, receiving around five million visitors per year.