Reliance Retail could take control of the iconic British toy store chain Hamleys if talks between the two end up in a deal. According to a report, the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance IndustriesLtd is “aggressively pursuing the deal” with the Chinese-controlled toy store chain. The talks with Hamleys could be a part of Reliance Industries new strategy of focusing its attention on its retail business.
RIL has reportedly asked its retail arm to pull out products like shoes, clothes and lifestyle products from rival online marketplaces Amazon and Flipkart as a precursor to the launch of its own business-to-consumer marketplace.
Mukesh Ambani unveiled the conglomerate’s plans for a “hybrid online-to-offline” venture in July 2018 that would take advantage of the synergies between Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail’s stores. Hamleys was earlier bought by Chinese retailer C Banner for 100 million pounds in an all-cash deal in 2015. The retailer was looking to exit the company last October.
