Toy giant Smyths sees group turnover hit €1.46bn

Galway-based family firm derives most of its revenues from its UK operations

The toy giant is owned by the low-key Smyth family from Mayo. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
The toy giant is owned by the low-key Smyth family from Mayo. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

The European arm of Smyths Toys recorded a 4 per cent rise in revenues last year to €475 million to bring overall turnover for the company to €1.46 billion.

The group, which has its headquarters in Galway, recently disclosed that combined revenues at its British and Northern Irish units last year totalled £666.5 million (€780.6 million), while turnover at its shops in the Republic hit €210.3 million.

Smyths Toys EU HQ Unlimited, which covers the group’s shops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, reversed a €30.8 million pretax loss in 2020 to record profits of €10.9 million.

The European arm of the business has close to 2,300 employees spread across more than 100 shops, the majority of which are in Germany.

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No dividend was declared from the unit, but directors of the family-owned company shared a €10 million dividend from the Irish business and a £31 million (€36.1 million) one from the group’s UK stores last year.

The toy giant is owned by the low-key Smyth family from Co Mayo. The majority of the group’s revenues derive from its 100-plus stores in Britain, where it has operated since the mid-2000s.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist