The toy store chain Hamleys is furthering its international expansion. It is planning top open its first store in Finland and then several more after 2016.
It was just a few days ago when it was announced that Hamleys will open one of the world’s largest toy stores in Prague. It seems that is not enough for the company and it is already eyeing several more stores in Finland, ToyNews reports. The first store is set to be open this year and will be in partnership with store chain Stockmann.
The first Hamleys store in Finland is to be opened in Stockmann’s flagship location in Helsinki in November. It will offer a huge selections of toys and stuffed animals, play areas, toy demonstrations and more. Hamleys and Stockmann are also planning to open several more stores throughout Finland from 2016 onwards.
“We are very proud to introduce Hamleys to our customers,” said Björn Teir, director of real estate at Stockmann.“Hamleys is a legend in its field and the new store and unique concept will bring new experiences and fun for both children and their parents.”
Both companies are already partnering for a Hamleys store in St. Petersburg in Russia. This is a natural extension of their partnership.
It also gives some food for thought about the dominating position of online shopping. More and more people are shopping online, yet new physical stores keep popping up. It seems there is still quite a lot of room left for both online shopping and traditional stores to coexist.
Traditional stores even have some benefits towards online shops. Hamleys says Sylvanian Families toys ahve jumped to number one on the floor after its display at the stores was expanded. Better visual displays attract the attention of customers and give them more incentives to explore the toys upping the chances some of them would be bought. Online shops are not always capable of doing that even with branded pages.
