The Entertainer is helping to fill the gap left by Toys ‘R’ Us by bringing in lots of Star Wars products that have never seen the light of day in such quantities before in the UK, and at competitive prices too.
ToyNews catches up with The Entertainer’s man in charge, Gary Grant, to talk those ever-expanding growth plans.
The Entertainer currently boasts 145 stores here in the UK. Grant has plans to smash through the 200 mark on home soil by the end of 2019. He already has a fleet of 16 additional stores lined up for launch this year – the most recent opening to be in Chatham just last month; so bringing that to the magical 200, for Grant, at least, should be little more than child’s play.
“When I talk to my sons about it all, I ask ‘where is The Entertainer heading?’… and they will turn around to me and say ‘well, it’s 1,000 stores now isn’t it, Dad?” Grant tells us, offering a candid glimpse into the homestead of this family-owned and run business unit.
While the Grants are known industry-wide, and increasingly world-wide, as hardworking over achievers, even the man in charge knows that 1,000 stores in the UK is something of an unattainable target.
“Yes, it’s impossible to have 1,000 stores in the UK. But it’s not impossible to have 1,000 toy stores around the world. Bearing in mind the current rate of growth we are seeing, we will certainly smash through 200 stores in 2019.”
Currently, its international network of stores is sitting at 21, he states. “Or is it 27?” Grant asks me. A quick search and it looks to be closer to 20 but we can forgive the confusion, with a network model of franchises popping up across Europe and the Far East at “an exponential rate,” you’re sure to lose track of those that have been announced and those still awaiting the official launch.
Read more here.
