An iconic toy shop is closing almost 30 of its stores after facing heavy losses. Hamleys, the world’s oldest toy shop, opened in 1760 and has an enormous flagship store on Regent Street in London.

The chain saw profits rise from £51.4 million to £53.3 million last year, according to Companies House data. UK revenue rose from £43.9 million to £45.9 million and Europe revenue rose from £166,00 to £832,000. But, international revenue fell from £7.3 million to £6.5 million. Hamleys has 11 stores in the UK and 90 stores abroad. It is not currently known where the 29 stores set to close are located. At least 34 members of staff have also been let go, cutting total employee numbers from 435 to 401.

A statement from Hamleys said: “We had a strong year, driven primarily by franchise royalties, and we’re optimistic about continued growth from it with [the] introduction of new territories along with organic growth of existing territories.

“The UK retail market remains challenging going into 2025 as consumer spending continues to be impacted by inflationary pressures.

“As a result, we remain cautiously optimistic on business growth with a continuous focus on cost optimisation to ensure the profitability of the group.

It added: “The group is continuously striving to improve the customer experience and proposition across all formats to ensure long-term sustainability of the business.

“We remain focused in identifying opportunities for future growth and implementing a robust digital strategy is a key growth driver for the UK in 2025.”

“The strategic review undertaken in 2024 to improve customer experience and proposition across all formats, introduction of new products and services, continued overseas growth and entry into new proprietary and franchise markets has delivered positive results for the group in 2024.”