With around 30 stores across Spain, Poly Toys has said the business is no longer viable and announced the dismissal of all staff.

The Entertainer acquired Poly Toys (Poly Juguetes) in 2018 from an administrator, adding to its growing international footprint and aiming, at the time, to regain the 5% Spanish market share that Poly previously had.

This week, the Poly Toys toy chain announced that it has taken the decision to put forward a “request of liquidation” in the face of the “inviability of the business” before the commercial courts of Madrid. The company has informed its workers that it will begin a collective dismissal procedure for all employment contracts.

The company operates stores under both the Poly brand and The Entertainer in Spain. Staff at both types of store are expected to be affected by this announcement. At the national level, the chain has about thirty operational retail outlets.

The company has reported accumulated losses of 15m euros since 2018, when it was acquired by Teal Group, the parent company of The Entertainer, Early Learning Center and Addo. With disappointing sales forecast for 2024, Teal Group has stated that it will no longer continue to finance the activity of Poly Toys beyond 31st March. Without this financial support, the company cannot remain viable.

Since 2018, Poly Toys has made efforts to improve its financial situation and boost its business, but has faced a number of challenges affecting the toy sector. The business cites factors such as technological development, the highly competitive nature of the market, certain economic and geopolitical factors, high inflation and the global economic situation, all of which have combined to prevent sales in the sector returning to pre-pandemic levels.