Gamleys was a chain of toy shops mainly located in the south of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with a head office in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, near

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. The company was founded in 1919. Unlike many of its rivals such as

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1948 in Washington, D.C.; its first store was built in April 1948, with i ...

, Gamleys operated smaller shops in

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

s and

shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

s rather than larger super stores. Because of this different approach to business it had managed to survive, unlike the former Children's World. The name Gamleys was thought up by the original proprietor, Bill Lord, who wanted to mix the names of the two most famous London stores, Gamages and Hamleys. In late 2007 and through the first half of 2008, a number of Gamleys stores closed down and in August 2008 rival chain The Entertainer, operator of thetoyshop.com website, purchased the Maidstone and Brighton stores, leaving only the Bromley store which closed in September 2008. After almost 90 years of trading, Gamleys went out of business in 2008.

Legacy

The Entertainer currently owns the Gamleys trademark, and purchased it from Gamleys Limited in 2008.

References

Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1919 Toy companies of the United Kingdom Toy retailers of the United Kingdom {{Toy-stub