The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd. is the United Kingdom's largest independant toy retailer, founded by husband and wife team Catherine and Gary Grant in 1981, when he purchased a local toy shop in Amersham; the group is now responsible for the running of 37 shops, mostly located in the southern half of England. The group now also owns the trading name of The Gadget Shop. A display of Roman toys, including several that would be familiar to children today: a doll, dice, rattles, and toy dishes for playing house. ... A drawing of a self-service store Retailing consists of the sale of goods/merchandise for personal or household consumption either from a fixed location such as a department store or kiosk, or away from a fixed location and related subordinated services (Definition of the WTO (last page). ... Amersham (previously Agmondesham) is a market town 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills, England. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... The Gadget Shop is a electronic toy retailer based in the United Kingdom. ...

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 1981. 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 The Pavilion shopping centre in Uxbridge. From here on the company underwent massive expansion, and by 2000 the chain had opened its twenty fifth shop located in the Victoria Centre, Nottingham. Interestingly the shop in Nottingham is the most northerly shop in the chain. As of 31 October 2005, the latest shop in the chain is the thirty seventh to open, located in Harlow. Location within the British Isles Beaconsfield is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England, about 30 miles NW of London. ... Victoria Centre clock from upper mall The Victoria Centre is a large shopping mall in the city of Nottingham, UK. It has over 120 shops and is rated as one of the top 15 shopping malls in the UK. Its main host stores are John Lewis and House of Fraser... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Store details

Branches of The Entertainer built before 2001 all support a bright red facia, with The Entertainer written in a white 'Times' style font. Many of them also bare the town's name, followed by toy shop, usually in areas where the Entertainer is the only true toy shop, or the largest, e.g. Nottingham's facia has Nottingham's Toy Shop to the right of the shop name, surrounding the Jack in a Box logo, this appears to have been discontinued as a slogan. Newer branches have often (but interestingly not always) used a striking bright blue facia, with The Entertainer written in a white Arial Rounded style font. The Jack in a Box logo is on the front of every shop without exception. The company's flagship store (The Bullring, Birmingham) has a unique facia, in that the sign is freestanding, raised out from the window, with the large illuminated jack in a box logo inside the window. Newer stores have made use of the company's slogan; mad about toys, and some have even had the company's website added. Each shop has a three digit number, corresponding to the order of opening. For example, The Entertainer Amersham's code is 001, and Nottingham's is 025.

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 where 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 where selling before the change of hands, minus products deemed immoral. The Gadget Shop is a electronic toy retailer based in the United Kingdom. ...

Christian beliefs

After an 'encounter with God' in 1992, Gary Grant decided that he would only sell toys that he deemed acceptable for Christian children to play with. Items that are seen to promote witchcraft and satanism are not sold. Recently, Gary Grant choose not to sell Harry Potter toys, a move which may have cost him several thousands of pounds. This attracted much publicity. Since the reopening of the Gadget Shop's website, there has been a distinct lack of smut. This is most likely for the same reason.

Another thing strictly off the agenda is Sunday trading, another expensive move. In fact because of this, the chain is now gridlocked, as many shopping centre's are reluctant to house shops that refuse to open on Sundays. This may be the reason why the Gadget Shop has yet to reopen on the high street.

The Grant Trust

The Grant Trust is The Entertainer's charitable wing. Part of Gary's belief is to give back to society. In 2002 alone, The Entertainer donated £100,000 to several childrens charities, including The Toybox, a charity founded by Gary Grant, which helps out needy children in South America. Staff are encouraged to join in on charitable events such as Red Nose Day and Children in Need. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... For a description of the origin of the term comic relief see comic relief. ... Pudsey is the teddy bear logo of Children in Need, created by designer Joanna Ball and named after Balls home town, Pudsey, in West Yorkshire. ...

Every branch of The Entertainer now sells armbands for various charities, at a cost of £1, 30p of which will go to charity.

External links

• The Entertainer
• The Gadget Shop