The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd.
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The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd. is the United Kingdom's largest independent toy retailer, founded by husband and wife team Catherine and Gary Grant in 1981, when he purchased a local toy shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. The group is now responsible for the running of 41 shops mainly in the Midlands and southern England. The group now also owns the trading name of The Gadget Shop.
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[edit] History
The Entertainer began when Gary and Catherine Grant took over The Pram and Toy Bar located in Amersham, Buckinghamshire in early 1981. The shop was renamed The Entertainer in May of that year. In 1985, they purchased their second shop, located on The Broadway in Beaconsfield. In April 1991, ten years since the acquisition of the toy shop in Amersham, the chain opened its third shop in Slough, although this shop has since closed. From here on the company underwent massive expansion, and by 2001 the chain had opened its twenty fifth shop located in the Victoria Centre, Nottingham. By 2006, The Entertainer comprised of 41 stores from Taunton to Manchester and a website specialising in toys and games.
[edit] Store details
Branches of The Entertainer opened before c.2002 generally support a red fascia with a Times font bearing the name 'The Entertainer', often alongside the legend "[location]'s Toy Shop" (e.g., Amersham's Toy Shop), usually in areas where The Entertainer has the largest all-round toy shop presence. Stores from this period characteristically had a 'shopping aisle' format with one or two large open areas for demonstrations or stacks of products during busier periods. This format has now been discontinued. The flagship store bearing this format is the Coliseum store.
In c.2003, a new store format was devised in an effort to modernise the chain alongside the opening of the new flagship store in the Bullring near Birmingham. The company's primary colour was changed from red to blue, with the company's name now inscribed in the font 'VAG Rounded'. 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.
Stores from the pre-2003 era are continually being refitted and relaunched on a needs basis (stores considered to be more run-down are given preference), the latest (as of August 2007) to complete the change has been the Nottingham branch. Stores are often given brighter lighting and new 'unified' signage that runs all the way around the store, along with the new company fascia.
[edit] The Gadget Shop
The Gadget Shop was purchased by The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd. from their administrators in June 2005, nearly 2 months since their retail stores and website were closed. The property that changed hands is unknown, but some stores were sold but unable to open, see the beliefs section below. The website reopened in October 2005, and seemed to be selling very much the same as what they were selling before the change of hands, minus products deemed unsuitable.
[edit] Christian beliefs
After an 'encounter with God' in 1991, Gary Grant decided that he would only sell toys that he felt comfortable with from a Christian perspective for children to play with. Items that are seen to promote witchcraft and satanism are not sold. Gary Grant has chosen not to sell Harry Potter toys, a move which may have cost him several thousands of pounds, but has attracted much publicity.
Another thing strictly off the agenda is Sunday trading.
[edit] The Grant Foundation
The Grant Foundation is The Entertainer's charitable wing. In line with biblical practice The Entertainer tithes its profits. In 2002 alone, The Entertainer donated £100,000 to several children's charities, including The Toybox, a charity Gary Grant was a trustee, which supports street children in Guatemala, South America.
In 2005, The Entertainer launched its own Charity Wristband Partnership with 15 charities raising over £300,000 for a range of different causes.
