Toymaker Hamleys Acquired by Reliance India

Hamleys ToysThe Indian business giant Reliance reached in an agreement with British toy manufacturer Hamleys to acquire them. The C Banner International Holdings, a Hong-Kong listed company that owns Hamleys signed the agreement with Reliance. According to a statement by Reliance, the deal will “catapult Reliance Brands to be a dominant player in the global toy retail industry”.

The Economics Times reported that the deal between the two firms is worth approximately Rs 620 crore (67.96 million GBP)

Sources say that Reliance owner Mukesh Ambani the richest man in Asia is preparing to take on Amazon and Walmart in the billion dollars Indian online market. As per a study conducted by Google India, the e-commerce market in India would reach US$100 billion by the year 2021.

Established in 1760, Hamleys is 258 years old in the toy industry. In recent years thought the company has been struggling to make profits. The toymaker who suffered a major loss in 2017 had performed better in 2018 with a profit of 2.44 million GBP after taxes.

Hamleys has 176 retail outlets across 18 countries worldwide and in India alone there are 88 stores spread across 29 cities.