Toyzone
ToyZone was a British high-street chain of stores, predominantly selling toys and novelty items. It was best known for being one of the first online toy retailers, launching their online store in 1998. The company's online effort were backed by TV presenter Jonathan Ross, Tom Hunter and Matthew Freud. History ToyZone was formed in January 1995 by Philip James Goodall and Philip Mark Iain Goodall. The chain originally operated a small network of toy stores. In 1998, the chain began national recognition due to its online operations, and former director of Toys R Us, Jo Hall, became appointed as the company's head. The chain was one of the earliest online toy stores, and was battling sales against Toys R Us and eToys. The chain gained backing from Matthew Freud, Tom Hunter and TV presenter Jonathan Ross. In 2001, the company failed to gain a head over Toys R Us, eToys and Amazon, and closed its online operations, instead partnering with Toymonkey.com. Following its online colla ...
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Hamleys
Hamleys is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. The world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's West End in 1881. This flagship store is set over seven floors, with more than 50,000 lines of toys on sale. It receives around five million visitors each year. The chain has 15 outlets in the United Kingdom and also has more than 90 franchises worldwide. History Hamleys is the oldest and in 1994 was the largest toy shop in the world. It is named after William Hamley, who founded a toy shop called "Noah's Ark" at No. 231 High Holborn, London, in 1760. Ownership of the shop passed through the family, and by the time it was operated by Hamley's grandsons in 1837, the store had become famous, counting royalty and nobility among its customers. A branch at 200 Regent Street in the West End of London was opened in 1881. The original High Holbo ...
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The Entertainer (retailer)
The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd. is the UK's largest independent toy retailer, which operates more than 170 stores. The company was founded by the husband and wife team Catherine and Gary Grant in 1981, when Gary purchased a local toy shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. The Entertainer is part of TEAL Group Holdings, a family of brands which also includes Addo and Early Learning Centre. History The Entertainer began when Gary Grant took over The Pram and Toy Bar located in Amersham, in 1981. Grant's wife Catherine came up with the name The Entertainer In 1985, they purchased their second shop, located Beaconsfield. In April 1991, ten years after the acquisition of the toy shop in Amersham, the chain opened its third shop in Slough, although this has since closed. The company then underwent massive expansion and, by 2001, the chain had opened its 25th shop, located in the Victoria Centre in Nottingham. The Entertainer now also has many concessions within Matalan under t ...
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Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2 from 1999 to 2010, and served as film critic and presenter of the ''Film'' programme. After leaving the BBC in 2010, Ross began hosting his comedy chat show ''The Jonathan Ross Show'' on ITV''.'' Other regular roles have included being a panellist on the comedy sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'' (1999–2005), being a presenter of the British Comedy Awards (1991–2007, 2009–2014), and being a judge on the musical competition show ''The Masked Singer'' (2020–present) and its spin-off series ''The Masked Dancer'' (2021–present). Ross began his television career as a TV researcher, before débuting as a presenter for ''The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross'' on Channel 4 in 1987. Over the next decade, he presented nume ...
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Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter (born 6 May 1961) is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Sports Division Tom set up his first business after graduating from the University of Strathclyde as he was, in his own words, "unemployable". With a £5,000 loan from his grocer father Campbell and matching funds from a bank, he started selling trainers from the back of a van. Hunter built the business into Europe's largest independent retailer. In 1998 in an unsolicited offer, Dave Whelan's JJB Sports offered to buy the larger Sports Division for £290 million; Hunter accepted, earning himself £252 million. Other business activities Hunter had expanded Sports Division through financing supplied by the Royal Bank of Scotland, but when he proposed the takeover of Olympus Sports, RBS refused to finance the deal. Through his friend Sir David Murray, he met Halifax Bank of Scotland governor Gavin Masterton on a trip to watch Rangers F.C. play Juventus, and subseque ...
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Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud (born 2 November 1963) is head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom. Early life Freud is the son of the actress June Flewett and the writer and German-born British politician Sir Clement Freud. His sister is television interviewer Emma Freud. His great-grandfather was Sigmund Freud. He is the nephew of the artist Lucian Freud and (by former marriage) of the writer Lady Caroline Blackwood, and his cousins include fashion designer Bella Freud, and novelists Susie Boyt and Esther Freud. Career Matthew Freud founded Freud Communications in 1985. Adam Curtis in his documentary Century of the Self describes Matthew Freud as a star in the "new culture of public relations and marketing in politics, business and journalism" that rose in the Clinton-Blair years. In 2009 PRWeek called Freud "the most influential PR professional in the UK". Freud, his sister Emma and brother-in-law Richard Curtis, sit on the board of Trus ...
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Toys R Us
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include Toy block, toy blocks, Board game, board games, and Doll, dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote control. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones. Playing with t ...
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EToys
EToy or EToys may refer to: * Etoy, Switzerland, a small town * Etoys (programming language), an educational programming language * eToys.com, a Dot-com era company/website * etoy, a conceptual art group * Electronic toys, typically built for and used by children * Educational toys Educational toys (sometimes also called "instructive toys") are objects of play, generally designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning. They are often intended to meet an educational purpose such as helping a child develop a ...

Toymaster
Toymaster is a British buying group, buying group association of independently owned toy stores, founded in 1977. Whilst some members brand themselves as Toymaster, others choose to retain their own branding to promote their independence. The association is known for its yellow and red fascia to suit the flag of Dorset, with the mascots being its two brown puppies, named Tilly And Tyler. As of June 2021, the association has members spanning the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as outlets in Jersey, Guernsey and a store in Malta. Background The member stores comprise a variety of different outlets, including toy stores, garden centres, department stores, post offices and others. Its head office provides central support to its member retailers, mainly finance and marketing, including a year-round window display program to help independent retailers promote key toy brands within their stores. The central office also provides information and support to its member stores to help th ...
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Online Retailers Of The United Kingdom
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or "on the line") could refer to any piece of equipment or functional unit that is connected to a larger system. Being online means that the equipment or subsystem is connected, or that it is ready for use. "Online" has come to describe activities performed on and data available on the Internet, for example: "online identity", "online predator", "online gambling", "online game", "online shopping", "online banking", and "E-learning, online learning". Similar meaning is also given by the prefixes "cyber" and "e", as in the words "cyberspace", "cybercrime", "email", and "ecommerce". In contrast, "offline" can refer to either computing activities performed while disconnected from the Internet, or alternatives to Internet activities (such as sho ...
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Defunct Retail Companies Of The United Kingdom
Defunct (no longer in use or active) may refer to: * ''Defunct'' (video game), 2014 * Zombie process or defunct process, in Unix-like operating systems See also * * :Former entities * End-of-life product * Obsolescence Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

Companies That Have Entered Administration In The United Kingdom
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared goals. Companies take various forms, such as: * voluntary associations, which may include nonprofit organizations * business entities, whose aim is generating profit * financial entities and banks * programs or educational institutions A company can be created as a legal person so that the company itself has limited liability as members perform or fail to discharge their duty according to the publicly declared incorporation, or published policy. When a company closes, it may need to be liquidated to avoid further legal obligations. Companies may associate and collectively register themselves as new companies; the resulting entities are often known as corporate groups. Meanings and definitions A company can be defined as an "artificial per ...
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Retail Companies Established In 1995
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers. Retail markets and shops have a very ancient history, dating back to antiquity. Some of the earliest retailers were itinerant peddlers. Over the centuries, retail shops were transformed from little more than "rude booths" to the sophisticated shopping malls of the modern era. In the digital age, an increasing number of retailers are seeking to reach broader markets by selling through multiple channels, including both bricks and mortar and online retailing. Digital technologies are also affecting the way that consumers pay for goods and services. Retailing support services may also include the provision of ...
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