The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd. is the UK's largest independent

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

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 Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, 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 Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

. In April 1991, ten years after the acquisition of the toy shop in Amersham, the chain opened its third shop in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

, 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 Victoria Centre is a shopping centre in Nottingham, England, constructed between 1967 and 1972. It contains fashion and high street chain stores as well as cafes, restaurants, a health and fitness centre, and the Nottingham Victoria bus station. ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. The Entertainer now also has many concessions within

Matalan Matalan is a British fashion and homeware retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside. It was established by John Hargreaves in 1985, and is still owned by the Hargreaves family. , the company employed over 13,000, and had 230 stores in the United K ...

under the branding name Totally Toys. As of 2020 they near 100 concessions. In February 2019, The Entertainer purchased

Early Learning Centre The Early Learning Centre (ELC) is a British retailer that sells toys aimed at younger children. It is part of The Entertainer (through its parent company TEAL Group Holdings). It was a subsidiary of Mothercare until 2019. History The origin ...

, with 520 international franchise outlets.

Store details

Branches of The Entertainer opened before around 2002 generally have signage bearing the name 'The Entertainer', often alongside the legend " ocations Toy Shop" (e.g., "Amersham's Toy Shop"). Stores from this period characteristically had a 'shopping aisle' format. In about 2003, a new store format was devised in an effort to modernise the chain, even though Grant was initially reluctant at the time of the opening of the new flagship store in bullring in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. The company's primary colour was changed from red to blue, with the company's name now inscribed in the font

VAG Rounded ''VAG Rundschrift'' or VAG Rounded (''Rundschrift'' is German for 'round typeface', short of ''abgerundete Schrift'', 'rounded typeface') is a geometric sans-serif typeface that was designed as a corporate typographic voice for the Volkswagen AG m ...

. Stores now have a more complex layout with false protruding walls and curved shelving gondolas. New stores often have the company's new slogan 'Mad About Toys' inscribed on the store's fascia. The Entertainer stores do not open on Sundays.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd., The Amersham Retail companies established in 1981 Retail companies of the United Kingdom Toy companies of the United Kingdom Toy retailers of the United Kingdom