Smyths Toys Superstores is an Irish multinational chain provider of children's toys and entertainment products with over 275 shops throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and Netherlands. The business is owned by the Smyth family.[2]
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Predecessor | Toys "R" Us (Switzerland, Germany and Austria) |
Founded | 23 December 1986 Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland |
Founders |
|
Headquarters | , Ireland |
Number of locations | c.275 stores |
Area served | |
Products | Toys Video games |
Revenue | c €2 billion |
Owner | Smyth family[1] |
Website | smythstoys |
The company is headquartered in Lyrr Building 1 in the Mervue Business Park, Galway, Ireland; it has additional offices in Belfast and London.
The group's turnover reached €1.465 billion in pandemic-hit 2020 with the majority of sales coming from the UK market.[3]
Before Smyths became a toy store it was a newsagent.
The company is run by three brothers, Tony, Padraig and Thomas Smyth. A fourth brother and director, Liam, died in July 2023.[4] The company was founded in Claremorris, County Mayo on 23 December 1986 .[5] Smyths is Ireland's largest toy retailer.[6]
On 24 April 2018, Smyths acquired Toys "R" Us stores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.[7] In 2019, all the stores in those countries were rebranded to Smyths.[8]
In July 2022, Smyths acquired French toy chain PicWicToys in France out of receivership, taking over 41 stores, 2 warehouses and a head office.[9]
Country | Number of stores |
---|---|
England, Scotland and Wales | 108 |
Switzerland | 11 |
Austria | 17 |
Germany | 67 |
France | 41 |
Northern Ireland | 7 |
Republic of Ireland | 21 |
Netherlands | 3 |
Totals | 275 |
In total, Smyths operates over 272 stores across 6 countries: 21 stores in Ireland, 117 in the United Kingdom,[12] 68 in Germany,[13] 16 in Austria,[14] 10 in Switzerland[15] and 41 in France. Smyths Toys UK Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.[16][17]
In 2023, Smyths confirmed it would expand into the Netherlands for the first time with new stores.[18]