Hamleys is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by the Indian company Reliance Retail. It was founded by William Hamley as “Noah’s Ark” in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors, with more than 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It receives around five million visitors each year. The chain has 15 outlets in the United Kingdom and also has more than 90 franchises worldwide.
As of 2021, there are fifteen Hamleys stores across the UK, including sites at the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow, at the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester, at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, St James Quarter in Edinburgh, St David’s Centre in Cardiff, the Merry Hill Centre in the West Midlands, York and at airports including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, also at Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield, Liverpool ONE, Cheshire Oaks Outlet, Gateshead Metrocentre and Manchester.