Hamleys expands airport stores

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UK toy retailer Hamleys has doubled the size of its store at Amsterdam Schiphol airport and is refurbishing and remerchandising its two London Heathrow outlets

The UK outlets will be revamped by the end of September, in time for the Christmas sales season. The Schiphol landside store will grow from 65sq m (700sq ft) to 139sq m (1,500sq ft) and will be fully refurbished by late September.

Hamleys has been operating at Heathrow since the early 1990s and said it has considerably refined its airport range requirements since that time. The upgrades follow the retailer's success at its flagship downtown store in Regent Street, London.

Hamleys chief operating officer John Watkinson told TRW: "We have invested a lot of time and effort in our main store. Now we are turning our attention to airports. The refurbishments coincide with development of our own-brand products - an area which has always sold well in airport space. This will further drive our airport sales, which were already growing."

"It is tempting to focus on the range requirements for each individual airport. But if you tailor-make each location it can be too time intensive. We now have a smaller percentage which we adapt to each location," said Watkinson.

Hamleys said it is looking to add other airport sites and is intially focussing its attention on UK airports.