ast week, Hamleys opened its first stores in Japan – large, vibrant, theme park-style outlets.This makes the world’s oldest toy retailer (founded in London in 1760) one of many British companies looking to East Asia to expand.
Hamleys formed a £300 million venture with Japanese video games firm Bandai Namco Amusement through which it is opening its first two Japanese stores this weekend. These are in Yokohama City near Tokyo, opening on Friday 30 November, and in Fukuoka, western Japan, opening on Saturday 1 December.
The stores will bring together Hamleys’ and Bandai Namco’s respective retail and entertainment expertise. They will have entertainers, playground attractions including merry-go-rounds, games corners and infant play spaces.
The Yokohama store will be 3,000m2 and the Fukuoka store 5,000m2, with around 6,000 products on sale. The company is aiming for 4 million visitors to each store in the first year. Through the Bandai Namco partnership, Hamleys plans to open a total of 30 stores in Japan over the next five years, which will secure 1,000 UK jobs and over 3,600 in Japan.
