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The History of Gamleys: 1919 to the present day...
Gamleys was founded in 1919 by the original proprietor, Bill Lord as a chain of toy shops mainly located in the south of the United Kingdom with a head office in Hove, near Brighton. The name Gamleys was thought up by Bill Lord who wanted to mix the names of the two most famous London stores, Gamages and Hamleys.
Unlike many of its rivals such as Toys "R" Us, Gamleys operated smaller shops in high streets and shopping centres rather than larger super stores. Because of this different approach to business it had managed to survive for decades. However, 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, purchased the Maidstone and Brighton stores, leaving only the Bromley store which finally closed its doors in September 2008. After almost 90 years of trading, Gamleys Ltd finally went out of business.
The brand lay dormant for six years until 2014, when the authors of the "Berty Bear" stories purchased the online assets of the former toy shop, and merged these with their own established creative studio. The management then adopted the Gamleys name for the combined group because of its better brand recognition and famous corporate history.
Gamleys is now developing an exciting new range of children's books, toys and games about the Adventures of Berty Bear & Friends, set in the magical village of Littleton...
Unlike many of its rivals such as Toys "R" Us, Gamleys operated smaller shops in high streets and shopping centres rather than larger super stores. Because of this different approach to business it had managed to survive for decades. However, 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, purchased the Maidstone and Brighton stores, leaving only the Bromley store which finally closed its doors in September 2008. After almost 90 years of trading, Gamleys Ltd finally went out of business.
The brand lay dormant for six years until 2014, when the authors of the "Berty Bear" stories purchased the online assets of the former toy shop, and merged these with their own established creative studio. The management then adopted the Gamleys name for the combined group because of its better brand recognition and famous corporate history.
Gamleys is now developing an exciting new range of children's books, toys and games about the Adventures of Berty Bear & Friends, set in the magical village of Littleton...
