Hamleys, a British toy shop with a history of 256 years, has come to Nanjing. On the morning of 1 October, Hamleys began trial operations in Sanpower Plaza (IFC), Xinjiekou, Nanjing. Guests attending the ceremony included the deputy mayor of Nanjing Huang Lan, vice minister of the United Front Work Department of the Nanjing Municipal Committee and secretary of the Party Committee of the Nanjing Federation of Industry and Commerce Mao Weihua, director general of the Nanjing Bureau of Commerce Kong Qiuyun, Nanjing Foreign Affairs Office Director Su Yuhong, Qinhuai District Secretary Cao Lubao, the mayor of Qinhuai District Lin Tao, executive deputy mayor of Qinhuai District Jiao Yong, deputy director of the Nanjing Bureau of Commerce Zhang Yanning, the British consul-general in Shanghai John Edwards, and chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai Phil Roebuck. Also in attendance was the chairman of Sanpower Group Yuan Yafei and the chairman of C. Banner International Holding Ltd. Chen Yixi, the president of Wangfujing Group Co., Ltd Du Baoxiang, the senior vice president of Sanpower Group Yue Lei, the chairman of Hamleys UK and House of Fraser UK Frank Slevin, the CEO of Hamleys UK Gudjon Reynisson as well as other business leaders.

Exactly how awesome is the British-born Hamleys?

Despite the on-off drizzling rain, visitors still made a long line at the door of the International Financial Centre at Xinjiekou in Nanjing. Many parents brought their children to wait for the first Chinese branch of this British toy shop to ring the bell and open. After a British-style opening ceremony, at over 10 o’ clock, the Hamleys’ mascot Ham Bear, a bell ringer and a child rang the bells together and declared, “Hamleys is open!”: a magical paradise for children opened its arms to Chinese customers. Citizens waiting in the rain entered in single file and turned this big toy shop into a bustling bazaar.

Everyone in the UK knows Hamleys. It is not just the oldest toy shop in the world, but also a must-see attraction in London, with members of the British royal family counted among its customers.

Hamleys was founded in 1760. Though it was bombed five times during World War II, Hamleys did not stop business. Today, there are over 80 Hamleys stores in 22 countries.

This British toy shop with more than 250 years of history was acquired by a Chinese enterprise, C. Banner International Holding Ltd., in 2015. Just one year later, the first Chinese flagship store has opened in “the number one shopping destination in Central China” in Xinjiekou, Nanjing. The area of the first Chinese store is nearly 7,000 square meters and it occupies the ground floor to third floor in Nanjing IFC. At present, it is the toy shop with the single largest area in China. It is understood that the Chinese store is also the largest Hamleys toy shop in the world, so when many parents saw the news that Hamleys was going to open a store in China, their first thought was to take their children to the store to see for themselves.

Less of a toy shop and more of an amusement park

“Wow, so many great toys!” was the cry that rang out as children entered the store. Seeing all sorts of toys on the shelves, their faces were full of surprise and curiosity.

Hamleys has tens of thousands of toys from the ground floor to third floor, many of which are of well-known toy brands, such as Harsbro, Mattle, Lego, Funko, Vtech and many of Hamleys’ own brands. It is reported that Hamleys brand products include souvenirs, presents, girl’s toys, handmade toys, outdoor toys, baby toys among many others, about 1,000 SKUs altogether. Even big brands such as Lego cooperated with Hamleys to supply a more complete range. At present, the shelves in this store are the only ones in Chinese market to carry eight series of Lego toys.

Not all Hamleys toys are packed in boxes. Display cases and game tables were set up next to shelves. Toys of each type are displayed as much as possible in their moving state, such as dancing blankets, British soldiers playing the drums, bubble machines and so on. Shop assistants encourage children to touch and try the toys, and will enthusiastically teach them how to play with the toys. Nanjing resident Mr Wang saw how energetically his daughter was playing Hamleys table tennis with a staff member and so he bought one for his daughter to play at home. “If the toys are packed away in boxes, customers will not know how to play with them. We teach them how to play with the toys and let them experience them, so they can feel how fun these toys are, and therefore be willing to buy them,” a shop assistant said.

In addition to selling toys, Hamleys toy shop has many other entertainments for children to enjoy. Entertainments like the magic piano and merry-go-round, shooting games, and remote-controlled car games are suitable for children at different ages. In addition, there is a special space used as a games room, in which there are slides, climbing frames, a ball pool and interactive holographic projection equipment. Shortly after the opening yesterday, customers had formed a long queue to enter the room.

Scene-based interaction everywhere

Compared to ordinary toy shops, Hamleys’ greatest and particular feature is that scene-based interactions are everywhere in the store. On the second floor, there was a big tree surrounded by children. The reason was that this tree can talk and it introduces Hamleys to the children. Its peculiar appearance and ability to talk aroused the children’s curiosity.

Hamleys’ stars, Ham bear and Hattie bear, were also walking around the shop, while a series of iconic characters, which children are familiar with, attracted a lot of little “fans” to take photos and interact. The enthusiasm of the fans infected the performers, who kept dancing with joy.

The shop also has a “magic spot” for photo-taking. If they stand in front of a green screen when being photographed, the customers will end up with pictures with British background; the idea that one can travel around the UK without leaving Nanjing astonished many. The super AR area also attracted the interaction of many children.

The scene-based experiences also include Hamleys’ unique customised themed party service. The Hamleys Nanjing’ shop is equipped with two party rooms on the third floor. The store will provide a variety of customised theme parties based on children’s preferences, personalities and needs. On the opening day, many parents enquired about how to make a reservation for a unique birthday party of their children.

Close service for “naughty children”

Considering the particular demographic of the customers visiting the toy shop, the 256 year old Hamleys has made a lot of careful arrangements. For instance, there are five children bathrooms and mother and child rooms in the Nanjing flagship store. Payment stations are found on all floors, so that paying is distributed throughout the store and it will not become too crowded when shopping with children.

There are no shopping carts or shopping baskets in the store, but red shopping bags are provided to carry the toys one is going to buy. There is a chest packed with shopping bags next to the lift on each floor and shopping guides also carry shopping bags in their hands, so that when they see a customer with toys, they will give the customer shopping bags right away. It is said that there are no shopping carts in any of the Hamleys stores around the world, and that is because many of the customers are children, and a shopping cart may hit children running about.