Britain’s biggest toy shop has announced a huge 25% closing down sale in the latest blow to the UK’s ever struggling high street. The Entertainer at The Moor Shopping Centre in Sheffield will close in just a matter of days.
Notices have appeared in the city centre store’s windows signalling that it will soon pull its shutters down for good. The beloved store will close in just over a week’s time on Saturday, October 11. And now the chain has launched a “everything must go” sale, slashing prices on tonnes of items by up to a quarter—excluding gift cards, Lego, VTech, and LeapFrog products.
The shop directs anyone with queries to customer services.
Shoppers have rushed to social media to express their sadness with one social media user saying: “And another one gone.”
Another said: “I have always loved coming in here with my family, will be sad to see it go.”
Founded in 1981 by Gary and Catherine Grant, The Entertainer has grown from one shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, to 160 stores, but has struggled in recent times.
Sheffield shoppers were also dealt a blow in May when fashion stores Weekday and Monki, both owned by H&M Group, announced their closures.
The entertainer posted pre-tax profits of £6.7million in its last set of annual accounts for the year to the end of January 2024.
Earlier this year owner Gary Grant, 66, announced he was to transfer 100% of the business into an employee trust.
This means the 1,900 employees will receive a share of the profits and will get a say in how the firm is run.
Mr Grant said: “This is a significant decision for the family, and one we haven’t taken lightly, but it feels like the right time to transfer our entire shareholding into an employee ownership trust. If the business had been sold just for money, that would not have been passing on the baton in the way in which the family would have wanted.”