Christie & Co, has been instructed by Tobar International Ltd to bring to the market specialist retailer Hawkins Bazaar Ltd.
The well-known toy and gift retailer, which began life as a mail order sales business in the 1970s, has grown over the years to include an online retail platform and national portfolio of 23 stores, most of which are situated in dominant city centre or strong shopping centre locations, plus several dedicated Christmas pop-ups.
Hawkin’s Bazaar has become established as a high street ‘bricks and clicks’ institution and staple for shoppers during the festive season, providing a unique offering of toys and gadgets for all ages and gifts for special occasions. The business has an experienced team that manages an additional pop-up portfolio of up to 15 stores over the Christmas and New Year trading period. The retail stores are occupied on relatively short leases, offering scope to optimise the store portfolio in the short term.
Currently operated alongside wholesale businesses within the Tobar International group, the sale of the D2C business is due to Tobar wishing to focus wholly on the wholesale sector.
David Mordecai, CEO of Tobar International comments, “Hawkin’s Bazaar is a very strong retail brand with tremendous heritage both on the high street and online. There is a great opportunity to take the business to the next level through development of the omnichannel approach.”
The business posted a turnover of £15.28m in 2018, with online sales accounting for 12.3per cent.
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