Smyths is an Irish multinational chain provider of children's

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

s, games and entertainment products with over 297 shops throughout western and central

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The business is owned by the Smyth family. The company is headquartered in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, with other offices in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The group's turnover reached €1.465 billion in pandemic-hit 2020 with the majority of sales coming from the UK market while in 2023 the group turnover exceeded €2 billion.

History

Smyths started out as a family newsagent on Main Street, Claremorris,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

in 1935 before branching out into toys in 1986. The original newsagent's shop in Claremorris remained in business under the Smyth's brand until late 2023. The company is run by three brothers, Tony, Padraig and Thomas Smyth. A fourth brother and director, Liam, died in July 2023. Smyths is the UK and Ireland's largest toy retailer.Toy mega store for Rayleigh Weir
, ''Essex Echo'', 13 September 2008

Expansion to central Europe

On 24 April 2018, Smyths acquired Toys "R" Us shops in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In 2019, all the remaining shops in those countries were rebranded to Smyths. In July 2022, Smyths acquired French toy chain in France out of receivership, taking over 41 shops, 2 warehouses and a head office.

Shops and subsidiaries

In total as of April 2025, Smyths operates over 304 shops across 7 countries: 21 shops in Ireland, 7 in Northern Ireland, 104 in England, 7 in Wales, 10 in Scotland, 74 in Germany, 16 in Austria, 11 in Switzerland, 49 in France and 4 in the Netherlands.

References

{{Reflist Retail companies established in 1986 Retail companies of Ireland Retail companies of Europe Irish companies established in 1986 Galway (city) Toy_retailers_of_the_United_Kingdom Privately held companies of Ireland Toy retailers of Ireland Superstores