History
In 1981, married couple Catherine and Gary Grant took over The Pram and Toy Bar in Amersham, with Catherine coming up with 'The Entertainer' as its new trading name. [6]
In 1985, they purchased their second shop, in Beaconsfield. [7] In April 1991, ten years after the acquisition of the toy shop in Amersham, the chain opened its third shop in Slough. The company then underwent massive expansion and, by 2001, the chain had opened its 25th shop, in the Victoria Centre in Nottingham. [8] By November 2008, the chain had 50 stores. [9]
In February 2013, The Entertainer extended to Pakistan and Dubai through franchise agreements. [10]
In March 2014, the retailer opened its 100th store, in Aylesbury. [11]
In May 2014, a location opened in Abu Dhabi. [12] In November 2014, a store in Azerbaijan opened in partnership with The Zeta Group. [13]
In September 2018, a partnership began with Matalan, opening 59 in-store concessions under the name 'Totally Toys'. [14]
In December 2018, The Entertainer announced it had rescued Poly Toys in Spain from administration, with 57 stores and 350 jobs saved. [15]
In February 2019, The Entertainer purchased Early Learning Centre from Mothercare, which included 520 international franchise outlets. [16]
In March 2020, the retailer closed all 172 of its stores temporarily, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [17]
In May 2021, The Entertainer converted one of its Poly Toys stores in Spain to The Entertainer fascia. [18]
In October 2020, The Entertainer started a trial programme with Asda, replacing the supermarket's existing toy aisles with branded concessions in some stores. [19] The programme ended in February 2022. [20]
In September 2022, The Entertainer signed a new trial agreement with Tesco, placing in-store concessions in 35 supermarkets. [21] In January 2024, Tesco announced they would extend this agreement to 850 stores throughout the UK and Ireland. [22]
In September 2023, the company appointed Andrew Murphy as its new group chief executive, who joined the following month from John Lewis Partnership. [23]
In March 2024, it was announced that Poly Toys in Spain would begin liquidation procedure. [24]
In April 2025, it was announced the Tesco concession partnership would expand to include over 2,000 Tesco Express stores. [25]
In August 2025, the founders announced that they were transferring their entire ownership of the company to an employee ownership trust, which would become effective from September 2025. [26] Announcing the deal, Gary Grant said: "This is good for the business and it’s really good for our staff. Finishing well and leaving a business that has over many decades tried to be a force for good is really important to us.". [3] As part of the deal, the founders will get a return from future profits. [3]
