'Revenge on the British Empire': Twitter full of jokes as Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance picks up iconic toy-maker Hamleys

What happens when Ambani's kids ask for toys? He buys Hamleys

Good to see Indian companies buying global brands pic.twitter.com/1Zx0FiWLJv

— Nischal (WazirX)  (@NischalShetty) May 9, 2019

Aakash Ambani: Dad You are Gonna Become Grandfather Soon! #Hamleys @HamleysToys #Ambani pic.twitter.com/302iCqGwge

— Parikshit Tokarawat (@pariktok) May 9, 2019

Hamleys soft toys to be free for 3 months?
 pic.twitter.com/jR96do18Xe

— Nivesh (@Nivesh01) May 10, 2019

Now that Reliance has acquired #Hamleys, can we expect free toys for the first 6 months, later-extended-by-another-6-months, and then heavily discounted toys for the rest of our lives? 

— Sohini (@Mittermaniac) May 10, 2019

The executive assistant was instructed to buy a toy *from* Hamleys, but the instructions were not clear. https://t.co/j01eBOqAt9

— Siddharth Singh (@siddharth3) May 10, 2019

A 620 crore rupees Elbow poke to the newly weds in the family, asking "When is Good news?"https://t.co/bJkxrV3fPl

— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) May 10, 2019

Mukesh Ambani acquires Hamleys. Buying a huge toy company is child's play for him#Hamleys

— Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) May 9, 2019

I always found Hamley’s in India to be too provincial with Tier 2 merchandise.
Hope it will have a London touch and feel now https://t.co/AojnA1fwXS

— اAnindita (@anindita_guha) May 10, 2019

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries acquire British toy-maker Hamleys for £69 million (Rs 620 crore).
It is the oldest and largest toy shop in the world and one of the world's best-known retailers of toys. Founded by William Hamley as "Noahs Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760.

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 10, 2019

Jaguar, Land rover and now #Hamleys
Revenge on the British Empire is being cemented one by one

— Ashwin Mushran (@ashwinmushran) May 10, 2019

Reliance Brands would acquire 100 per cent equity shares of "Hamleys Global Holdings Limited (HGHL) for a cash consideration of GBP 67.96 million", RIL said in a BSE filing.
Hamleys started with a single-store shop, Noah's Ark, in 1760. It now has 167 stores across 18 countries. Besides the UK, it has stores in China, Germany, Russia, India, South Africa and West Asia.
Reliance Retail, Ambani's flagship retailer, already has a pan-India franchise agreement with Hamleys to merchandise its famous toys.
This acquisition will catapult Reliance Brands to be a dominant player in the global toy retail industry, the company said in a statement.
In India, Reliance has the master franchise for Hamleys and presently operates 88 stores across 29 cities.

Reliance Brands President and CEO Darshan Mehta said the worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand and business places Reliance on the front-line of global retail.
 

Personally, it is a dream come true, he added.
"Over the last few years, we have built a very significant and profitable business in toy retailing under the Hamleys brand in India. This 250-year-old English toy retailer pioneered the concept of experiential retailing, decades before the concept of creating unique experiences in brick and mortar retailing became the new global norm," Mehta said.

Hamleys was delisted from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2003 when it was taken over by Icelandic investment firm Baugur Group for USD 68.8 million. In 2012, it was sold for USD 78.4 million to Groupe Ludendo of France.? Hamleys opened it flagship Regent Street London store in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors covering 54,000 sq ft, with over 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It is considered one of London's prominent tourist attractions, receiving over 5 million visitors each year.