London’s iconic Hamleys makes major play for video gaming market with new department launch

The iconic London toy store and toy retail brand, Hamleys is making a major new play for the video gaming market with the opening of a new state-of-the-art console, PC and gaming accessories department in its Regent Street location.

The new 1,326 square foot gaming space is situated within the Lower Ground Floor of the seven floor London flagship store and features leading consoles, from PS4 and PS5 to Xbox One and XS, Nintendo Switch, and a wide range of PC games and accessories.

As well as signifying a dramatic shift in audience for the London retailer, the department also now becomes the largest gaming retail site on London’s Soho area and features the latest top ranked games and best-sellers across the gaming platforms, spanning titles from publishers including EA, Capcom, and Activision, as well as Nintendo, Ubisoft, Rockstar Games, and Bandai Namco.

Accessories brands in the new gaming offer include XRocker, Turtle Beach, Anda Seat, Power A, Nacon and Hori and feature everything from keyboards and mouse pads to a wide range of gaming chairs, controllers, arcade sticks and headsets.

“We are delighted to unveil this exciting new development in our Regent Street store, where we will deliver the very best range of products and the first-class expertise and service our customers have come to expect. This is a natural fit for Hamleys and in time, we would like to see gaming roll out across our wider global retail estate,” said Hamleys of London CEO Sumeet Yadav.

Top games available on Playstation 4 range from LEGO Marvel Collection and Batman Arkham Knight from Warner Bros to Asterix & Obelix – XXL Collection from Maximum Games and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End from Sony Interactive and Call of Duty Black Ops III from Activision. On PS5 they include Marvel Spider Man Miles Morales Ultimate Edition, Ghost of Tushima and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart from Sony Interactive.

On Nintendo Switch games include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword from Nintendo, while on PC lead games include Minecraft from Mojang Studios to Diablo III from Blizzard.

On Xbox One, games range from Star Wars Squadrons and UFC4 from EA Sports to Snowrunner from THq1 Nordic and Call of Duty Black Ops III and WWII. On Xbox X/S they include Overcooked All You Can Eat and Fortnite: The Last Laugh Bundle from Warner Bros.

 The new Hamleys Gaming Department opened on 23 July 2021. The Regent Street store is open from 10am on weekdays and Saturdays and 12 noon on Sundays.

Hamleys expansion and investment ‘will be significant and worthy of a 260 year old brand’

Hamleys is pushing forward with expansion plans for its 260 year old toy selling business which includes a refurbishment of its iconic London store on Regent Street and the potential to open new stores across the UK.

The toy retailer’s current owner Reliance Brands has underlined its plans to for ‘significant investment’ in the Hamleys name, stating that the expansion is a ‘sign of confidence in the brand and strategy’, rather than a ‘foolhardy ambition.’

The plans arrive at an interesting time for the high street, which has been hit by the pandemic and the surge in online shopping that the UK’s lockdown measures have facilitated in recent months. Recent months and weeks have seen numerous British retailers implement job cuts and store closures, citing the coronavirus as the cause of the decline.

However, Summit Yadav, CEO of Reliance Brands told Bloomberg that while ‘it has been quite an eventful journey,’ it would not be holding back making long-term investments. Yadav has declined to say just how much money is being invested in the expansion, but described the sum as ‘significant and worthy of a brand that is nearly 260 years old.’

“The Hamleys experience cannot be diluted,” he said.

Reliance, owned by the richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani, bought the 259-year-old toy retailer from Chinese footwear group C.banner International for £68m.

During the acquisition, Reliance said the transaction would “catapult Reliance Brands to be a dominant player in the global toy retail industry”.

Funko launches new licensed board games, opens shop-in-shop with Hamleys and moves for the kids toy space

Funko has now partnered with Hamleys Russia to launch a new Funko shop-in-shop in the toy retailer’s flagship Moscow store – helping the firm step its international efforts up a level.

The partnership between the two titans kicked off with a launch party to amplify the shop within a shop model being rolled out in store this February. The Moscow shop-in-shop – also known as the Funko Zone, launched on February 21st to media and influencers, followed by a grand opening for the public on February, 22nd.

 Key press and taste makers took part in photo opportunities at the opening of the new permanent shop-in-shop, which plans to offer an immersive experience, allowing customers to experience and celebrate a world of Funko through a life sized Pop! box, large statues of Disney’s Maleficent, Harry Potter’s Hagrid, and a Star Wars Storm Trooper.

There will also be screen takeovers with Funko’s own animations of Disney’s Frozen and Star Wars.

 The space, which will be a tribute to the Funko stores in Seattle and Hollywood, will be home to new Funko launches including Loungefly (fashion accessories), Funkoverse (board games), a wealth of Pop!, and more, but to kickstart it all – will be the launch of the following Hamleys Russia exclusives; Overwatch D. Va Pop! (Diamond Edition), Cruella De Vil Pop! (Diamond Edition) and Pennywise with Glow Bug Pop!

 Andy Oddie, managing director at Funko, EMEA, said: “Launching a shop-in-shop in Moscow’s iconic Hamleys store is an absolute honour and a key milestone for us. The famous store and brand is the perfect home for a Funko Zone, bringing our pop culture retail experience to Moscow’s city centre.”

 Sveta Farnieva, brand director of Hamleys Russia, added: “Partnering with the pop culture giants of today to bring their collectibles and apparel via the vessel that is our store is just the beginning of amazing things to come. Watch this Funko space.”

Funko has been expanding its brand depth in recent weeks, culminating with the recent unveiling of the newest titles to emerge from its Funko Games umbrella. It was at this year’s New York Toy Fair that Funko Games, the board game group of the Washington-based pop-culture firm, unveiled a diverse lineup of games.

Among its first wave were the likes of Back to the Future: Back in Time, Godzilla: Tokyo Clash, and a new title making use of the Pan Am license.

“The Funko Games new releases span from deep strategy board games to collaborative family fun to quintessential party picks that are all rooted in clever stories, nostalgic pop-culture touchstones, and fan-favourite licenses,” read a statement from the outfit.

On top of this, Funko also used the New York Toy Fair as the launch pad for its debut into the toy category via its newest product line called Snapsies. Through Snapsies, Funko has developed a toy line specifically for the younger market, featuring patent pending snap-and-match technology which allows kids to add personalisation to a diverse lineup of characters like rock star unicorn Jett, super-athletic mountain goat Billie, and hedgehog Boe, the baker.

Eva Verhaak, head of marketing and strategic sales at Funko, EMEA, added: “We are ecstatic to launch into toys with Snapsies, a product that heroes friendship, creativity and being an individual.

“The fact this is intertwined with a new snapping technology makes it a unique proposition for retailers and consumers. Additionally, all characters were brought to life with beautiful animations created by our in-house team at Funko Animation Studios. Collectively, we can’t wait to see kids ‘snapping and matching’ away this year and building their collections.”

Snapsies  will be available in the UK this summer.