India's Reliance Industries buys global toy retailer Hamleys (updated)

C banner International Holdings

09/05/2019 17:47

(Adds detail, background)
    By Promit Mukherjee
    MUMBAI, May 9 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries
 RELI.NS  has acquired British toy retailer Hamleys, the
energy-to-telecoms conglomerate said on Thursday.
    Reliance Industries, which runs the world's biggest
single-location crude oil refinery in western India, has been
gradually transforming itself into a consumer-facing behemoth
through its retail and telecoms ventures. 
    Through its Reliance Brands subsidiary, the company signed
an agreement to buy Hamleys from Hong Kong-listed C Banner
International Holdings.
    Reliance did not disclose the price, but in 2015 C Banner
had bought it for 100 million pounds ($130.2 million) from
France's Groupe Ludendo.
    The acquisition marks the first foray of billionaire Mukesh
Ambani-owned Reliance Industries in an overseas retail brand.
    "The worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand and
business places Reliance into the frontline of global retail,"
said Darshan Mehta, chief executive of Reliance Brands.
    Reliance Retail has the licence to sell Hamleys products in
India.
    Founded in 1760, Hamleys resonates with a sense of nostalgia
for adults and children alike, with its flagship Regent Street
store in Central London recognised around the world. 
    Hamleys has withstood global recessions, and world war
bombings and has changed hands several times, the latest being
the 2015 sale by Groupe Ludendo.
    The toy seller runs 167 stores across 18 countries, the
majority of which are in India. Reliance, which owns the master
franchise, operates 88 Hamleys stores across 29 Indian cities.
    Having established itself as India's leading telecoms
player, Reliance Industries has been firming up plans for a
major retail onslaught to combine its traditional outlets with
an online foray aimed at taking on Amazon  AMZN.O  and Walmart 
 WMT.N  in India.
    It is already the country's biggest bricks-and-mortar
retailer in terms of revenue and number of stores.
    The conglomerate's strategy to diversify beyond refining and
petrochemicals has began to bear fruit, with its fast-growing
telecoms and retail operations driving quarterly profit to
record highs despite its gross refining margins taking a hit
from oil price volatility and slowing global demand.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20U1ME
    The group's retail business doubled revenue to 356 billion
Indian rupees ($5.1 billion) in the three months to Dec. 31
while earnings before interest and tax more than tripled to 15
billion rupees.
($1 = 70.2100 Indian rupees)
($1 = 0.7683 pounds)
    

 (Reporting by Promit Mukherjee
Editing by Alexandra Hudson and David Goodman)
 ((promit.mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; +91-22-6180-7516;
Reuters Messaging:
promit.mukherjee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))