World-famous toy retailer Hamleys unveiled the first part of the refurbishment of its flagship Regent Street store last week, with a mock-up of a London bus at its heart.

Hamleys has overhauled the ground and top floors of its seven-floor London store. Hamleys trading director Paul Currie said the new look is intended to enable the retailer to “bottle the Hamleys brand in order to make it more portable”.

He added: “This brand has got massive equity that has never really been captured and taken outside London.”

Designed by US consultancy Chute Gerdeman, the ground floor features a mock-up of a London bus and a tree filled with toy bears – part of what the retailer describes as “Regent’s Bear Park” – designed to capitalise on the store’s proximity to Regent’s Park.

The top floor features an organic café, called Regal Tea Café, a party room and an -electronic-toy department, -selling robots, toy cars and gizmos aimed at men and teens, said Currie.

The refurbishment of the entire store is expected to be completed by 2010, to coincide with Hamleys’ 250th anniversary.

The toy retailer plans to transfer elements of its London refurbishment to new stores. It will open a shop in Dubai in August, which will feature a mock-up of a London bus and a cardboard cut-out of Regent Street, which it calls a Regent Streetscape. On the streetscape, its shop will be called The Joy Emporium – the original name for the Hamleys store when it opened in 1760.

Currie said Hamleys will focus on further standalone stores in the UK once the Dubai outlet is up and running. Possible locations include cities in the north of England, such as Manchester and Liverpool, and Scottish cities, including Edinburgh and Glasgow. However, there are no firm plans at present.

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