Prague plays host to biggest toy shop in Central Europe
Prague has become the home of the largest toy store in Central Europe. This week the British chain Hamleys opened a new store in a former bank building in the centre of Prague. While the main Hamleys toy shop in London covers 4,500 square metres, the Prague store, which spreads over two storeys, covers more than 6,000 square metres.
The store is located in a renovated 1930’s Art Deco building on the corner of Na Příkopě and Panská streets, in one of the most expensive parts of the city.
The dominant feature of the store is a musical merry-go-round located in the central atrium of the building. The store also features a number of other attractions for children, such as a race track, a giant slide and a giant rocket.
The grand opening of the store on Thursday was attended by Gudjon Reynisson, CEO of Hamleys, who was quoted by Prague.tv as saying that seeing what his partners had done was his proudest moment and that the local team had done an unbelievable job in having the store ready by the projected launch date.
He also told Prague.TV what differentiated Hamleys from its rivals. “Hamleys is about making toys fun for families all over the world and delivering an unrivalled experience. Through our partners Inexad in Prague we had a fantastic opportunity to develop our retail experience to be even more memorable.”
The Czech branch of Hamleys wants to safeguard the brand’s traditional image, focusing on traditional toys of all kinds from plush toys to board games, rather than on electronic toys or videogames. About one half of toys are produced under the Hamleys brand and cannot be bought in any other toy shops.
Hamleys opened its first store in London in 1760 and launched its first franchise in 1987. Currently it is a global company with 75 stores in 22 countries.
The Czech branch of Hamleys is the first store in Central European region. In the future, the chain hopes to open more stores in the Czech Republic, Hungary and neighbouring countries. Other major toy retailers on the Czech market include Bambule, Dracik, Sparkys, Pompo and HM Studio. The turnover of the domestic toy market reaches 5.0 billion crowns annually.
