Hamleys, the world-famous toy retailer, intends to broaden its reach into the Middle Eastern markets to sustain a record year-end festive-season performance which saw the company increase its like-for-like (LFL) sales by 11.6 per cent over 2008 within the six-week period leading to January 2, 2010.
From the second quarter leading up to the last quarter of 2009, Hamleys’ LFL sales were up 7.2 per cent on 2008. The buoyant performance and cost benefits derived from a restructuring programme completed in 2009 combined to significantly boost company profits, with Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) advancing 42.8 per cent over the same period last year. Hamleys’ productive run extended to the Middle East, where its franchise store in Dubai (at The Dubai Mall) run by partner Retail Arabia International reported a festive-season LFL sales increase of 54 per cent – boosted in part due to the fact that Hamleys at The Dubai Mall was the exclusive regional retailer of Ben 10 Alien Force merchandise.
Commenting on the performance, Gudjon Reynisson, CEO of Hamleys, said: We are delighted with the performance of the business during this important trading period and for the whole financial year. The festive-season sales figures were very strong with our flagship store in Regent Street having its best season on record and we are also very pleased with the strong performance in our new flagship store in the St.Enoch Centre in Glasgow where sales significantly exceeded our expectations.”
“2010 will be a historic year for Hamleys as we celebrate the company’s 250th birthday in February and in the same month, together with our Indian franchise partner Reliance Retail we open our 3rd international franchise store and our first in India: Hamleys Mumbai,” he added.
Hamleys, through Retail Arabia International, plans to expand further into the Middle East, where the toy industry has been growing at almost 12 per cent annually and is worth an estimated USD 1.5 billion per year. The company will be opening a branch in Dubai’s Mirdiff City Centre, its second in the emirate, and is also currently eyeing opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“The exceptional performance of Hamleys’ UK stores towards the end of 2009 punctuated what was a very productive year both locally and internationally. Here in the Middle East we have a very young population and consumers with high spending power, which makes us a top market for the toy trade. The impressive sales at Hamleys Dubai during the previous season prove that the brand has been warmly welcomed by Arab buyers and thus provides a solid basis for further expansion into the region,” concluded Nabil Daoud, Managing Director and CEO of Retail Arabia International.
Hamleys is an internationally-recognised toy retailer with ambitious plans to grow the brand further. The flagship store on Regent Street, with over seven floors packed full of toys and games, is considered to be one of London’s major tourist attractions and receives about 5 million visitors a year. The company has developed an international reputation for choice, quality, and innovation.
