Thousand Baidu plans to acquire Britain's oldest Hamlis toy store for £100 million

2The Hamrez toy flagship store on Regent Street, London, UK. CFP data map Following the acquisition of the London taxi company and the old British department store Fraser (House of Fraser) by Chinese private enterprises, the UK’s oldest and most popular Hamleys toy store (Hamleys) also It will soon be included in the bag by Chinese private enterprises. On October 22, London local time, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the UK, Chinese women's shoe manufacturer Qianbaidu Qianbaidu International Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qianbaidu, 01028.HK) and the existing shareholder of Hamlis Toy Store-France Ludendo Enterprises SAS (Ludendo Enterprises SAS, hereinafter referred to as Ludendo) jointly held a press conference, announcing that the two parties will sign an agreement on the acquisition of all issued shares of Hamlis Toy Store by Qianbaidu in the near future.　　 After the press conference, Chen Yixi, chairman of the board of directors of Qianbaidu in London, said in a telephone interview with The Paper that the acquisition is expected to be officially completed by the end of November. Since the contract has not yet been formally signed, the target of the acquisition amount cannot be disclosed.　　 The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Qianbaidu agreed to pay about 100 million pounds (about 970 million yuan) to acquire Hamlis.　　2 In the Hamrez toy store, the administrator is placing Christmas goods, preparing for the Christmas shopping wave. CFP data map 　　 In September 2012, the French family-controlled toy retail group Groupe Ludendo acquired the 252-year-old Hamlis for about 60 million pounds (about 600 million yuan).　　 Thousand Baidu, which focuses on the footwear market, came forward to acquire a British toy store with a century-old history, which seems a bit puzzling. What's more, the acquirer that the market first reported was actually Qianbaidu's strategic partner-China Sanpower Group.　　 On April 13, 2014, Sanpower Group announced that it had acquired the 165-year-old British department store chain House of Fraser for a price of 480 million pounds. This transaction is also the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese retail company.　　 It is interesting to note that on the 22nd, Sanpower Group Chairman Yuan Yafei and Fraser Board Chairman Frank Slevin also attended the Qianbaidu acquisition conference.　　 Chen Yixi told The Paper that he started contacting French shareholders two months ago, and both parties have done a lot of work in these two months. The reason for making this decision is that Qianbaidu Company needs to implement global brand strategy and business diversification; secondly, in the current situation of insufficient retail sales in China, the special retail format of Hamlis toy store can strengthen Qianbaidu. Competitiveness in retail channels is also conducive to the cultivation of private brands.　　 Earlier, 'BBC Chinese Net' reported that Chen Yixi is Yuan Yafei's brother-in-law.　　In the development of retail channels, it will cooperate with the retail industry of Sanpower System, especially Fraser. Chen Yixi said that they will integrate Fraser and Hamlis into China's **new** unique department store retail model. **In the first half of next year, this **new model of department stores will be available. Domestic debut.　　 When answering the question of whether the paper will cooperate with Sanpower Group in capital in the future, Chen Yixi said that we will actively participate in the mutual cooperation of retail brands to strengthen brand competitiveness.　　 Qianbaidu also announced in an announcement that, taking advantage of the acquisition of Hamlis, Qianbaidu Company is considering establishing a deep cooperation relationship with department stores and using department store brands and channels. The Hamliss Toy Store claims to be the world’s largest toy store. No one knows it in the UK. It has a history of 255 years. It was founded by William Hamley in London in 1760 and opened in Regent Street (Regent Street) in 1881. ) Opened a flagship store. The store has seven floors, a business area of u200bu200bmore than 50,000 square meters, and up to seven floors. There are about 10,000 categories and a total of 450,000 different toys. The scale is unmatched, and it also holds the British Royal The royal certification is one of the tourist attractions in the West End** of London, and it can attract about 5 million tourists every year. In the long history of more than 255 years, Hamlis has created many miracles and became the Neverland in the eyes of the British and even the whole world. Even the nursery and playrooms used by the Queen of England and her children are From this neverland.　　 In recent years, Hamlis has gradually expanded and currently has more than 50 branches around the world, and also sells toys online.