The retailer delivered a total YOY sales increase of 21.7% for the 12-month period ending 28th January 2019.
The Entertainer has announced a profit increase of 31%, with total profits reaching £15.1m. The retailer also announced that profit-related bonuses of £3m were handed out to its employees, and that the company’s policy of tithing profits resulted in donations of £1.6m. Along with other schemes such as Payroll Giving, Pennies and carrier bag donations, the retailer’s total charitable donations hit £2.7m.
The Entertainer added 16 stores to its UK portfolio, taking its total to 163. It also grew its international footprint with the acquisition of Poly, a chain of 55 toy shops in Spain, and continued to grow the curated wholesale business through its partnership with Matalan by opening a further 54 toy departments, taking the total to 63.
The financial results follow the recent news that The Entertainer has acquired the Early Learning Centre (ELC). ELC operates within 80 Mothercare stores in the UK, 400 stores internationally via franchise partners and online through its website, www.elc.co.uk. The acquisition also included ELC’s portfolio of iconic British toy brands such as Happyland.
The toy specialist was also named Best Retailer Under £250m at the Retail Week Awards, garnering praise for its company ethos and culture, while in February it was ranked the 49th Best Company to Work For in The Sunday Times’ annual round-up.
Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman of The Entertainer, commented: “We’re delighted with these results and credit our success to our enthusiastic, loyal staff, who we’re delighted to be rewarding with a record profit related bonus. 2019 will see us continue to keep a tight control on costs, further strengthen our own label product offering through our Addo brand, ensure we are first to market on key trends and of course offer excellent value for money to our customers.”
He added: “Our ambitious growth agenda will continue after our exciting start to the year with the acquisition of ELC and we will continue to look at every opportunity to expand our presence both nationally and internationally.”
