Gregor Partnership styles Hamleys abroad

Renowned toy store Hamleys is embarking on its first programme of international expansion and has brought in Gregor Partnership to design its forthcoming concession store format (pictured above right).

The company will initially open three concessions sites in Denmark, all within the department store group Magasin du Nord. There are then plans to open additional locations early next year.

The ‘totally new’ concept developed by Gregor Partnership emerged from designs drawn up for Hamleys’ iconic Regent Street location in London. These plans were then set to one side and the design direction was adapted for concessions, says consultancy founder Gregor Jackson.

‘Hamleys decided to look at how to adapt the designs we had produced. The concessions will act as a good test bed for Regent Street,’ he says.

Aspects of the Regent Street store have been embedded in Gregor Partnership’s concession designs. ‘The lighting, for example, is not necessarily the best in Regent Street, but it does have a sense of undulation and discovery. We’re turning this into a positive element in the concessions. We are trying to take the scale, wonder and excitement of Regent Street and scale it down,’ says Jackson.

Hamleys conducted market research ahead of the designs to investigate consumers’ perceptions of the brand.