Five new shops, in Dublin and the southwest, are set to be opened in the next two years creating 450 new jobs, 300 of them permanent.

The company has moved away from selling traditional Barbie dolls and Action men to include nursery books, stationery and mobile phones. An industry phenomenon known as KGOY (Kids Getting Older Younger) has forced Byrnes to expand its product range. The company's marketing director, James Byrne, believes this is the key to driving the expansion.

"We have definitely broadened our range quite a lot, " he told the Sunday Tribune.

"People don't think of it but toy retailing is really a part of the fashion industry - tastes constantly change. We have broadened our base enough that we are no longer as Christmas-reliant as we once were. It's quite possibly why we are not encountering the difficulties that other retailers are, " he added.

As well as the new shops, five existing outlets will be expanded and refurbished, with an expected turnover of Euro60m for 2007, a rise of Euro10m on 2006.

Byrne's World of Wonder was founded in 1976 and now has a permanent staff of 350, but this is set to rise to 500 as part of the expansion.

The average shop size is 15,000 square feet, with the store in Coolock set to be extended.

The Byrne group was recently awarded toy retailer of the year for the UK and Ireland for 2006.