Toy retailer The Entertainer posts bumper sales growth in Christmas trading
The Entertainer toy group has reported strong sales growth over the Christmas period despite retailers facing the most challenging festive trading season in a decade.
The family-owned retailer, which sells online and through its stores, said sales for the five weeks to 29 December were up 22.4 per cent on the same period in the previous year.
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Total like-for-like sales increased 13.5 per cent, with in-store sales rising 13 per cent, the company said.
Like-for-like sales is a key metric in the retail industry, stripping out the effect of store closures and new stores opening.
Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman of The Entertainer, said the figures capped “a tremendous year of growth” for the business.
He added: “2019 will see us continue this trend as we progress with our growth agenda, looking at every opportunity to expand both nationally and internationally.”
Fellow toy retailer Toys R Us shut its doors last year as it fell into administration.
The Entertainer, which has its flagship store at London’s Westfield shopping centre, was founded in 1981 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, by Grant and his wife Catherine. They now run the business, which has a total of 163 stores in the UK, with two of their sons.
As part of its growth in 2019, The Entertainer opened 18 new stores and expanded its partnership with Spanish retailer Matalan. The retailer currently has 163 stores in the UK.
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The business also expanded its franchise operation into three new territories and acquired Spanish toy retailer, Poly, which has 57 stores.
The company said its website now receives 23m visits annually.