Edinburgh St James Quarter: Hamleys toy shop announces sudden closure of store

Edinburgh toy store puts sign in its window telling customers it will close next month
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A flagship toy store in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter shopping centre is closing its doors. Hamleys has placed a shutting down notice in its window informing customers the store is due to close on Monday, February 6.

One of the centre's star brands to announce its arrival in the summer of 2021, the iconic shop has been part of the £1 billion St James Quarter for nearly two years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

St James Quarter said the closure was part of a number of Hamleys closing across the UK and that ‘every effort’ is being made to support workers who will lose their jobs.

Hamley's in Edinburgh's St James Quarter is closing its doorsHamley's in Edinburgh's St James Quarter is closing its doors
Hamley's in Edinburgh's St James Quarter is closing its doors

The sad news follows the recent announcement of the closure of several big brand shops across the Capital, including TK Maxx at Meadowbank, M&S at Meadowbank and the M&S foodhall at Ocean Terminal.

Hamleys previously occupied a place in the old Jenners building in the city centre before the former Department store closed. The toy store has been a household name for over 260 years. Its slogan “bringing toys to life” is a reality in the store where kids are encouraged to have fun and play by the expert toy demonstrators.

The reason for the sudden closure has also not yet been confirmed by the company and it's not known if there will be a closing down sale.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A spokesperson for St James Quarter, said: "We can confirm that Hamleys has taken the decision to close a number of their stores in locations across the UK, including St James Quarter

"We’ve introduced a number of fantastic fashion, food and drink, leisure and beauty destinations to The Quarter over the past few months including Neom, Boss, Coach, Gordon Ramsay Street Burger, EL&N and The Real Greek and we are constantly looking at ways to expand our offer to ensure we continue to provide guests with a world class experience

We will be making every effort to support those employees who are being released from their Hamleys contracts via our employment and training partners, Fuse .

Following an extremely successfully Christmas and Sale trading period , where the Quarter enjoyed record breaking footfall , we anticipate that a new retailer will be announced in due course, joining the amazing additions still to come this year."

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.