Britain’s biggest toy chain with more than 160 UK stores to close popular site for good in DAYS
THE Nation’s biggest toy chain with more than 160 stores is set to close a popular site for good in just days.
Announcing the closure on social media, many locals have already responded with disappointed comments.
Early next month, the outlet in Barrow-in-Furness will roll down its shutters for the final time.
The store in Barrow had opened in the former Argos unit of the town centre in 2017.
But now, closing down posters have been pictured in the windows of the much-loved store ahead of its closure on May 3.
Keith Stenhouse, Head of Region at The Entertainer, said: “We are sad to be closing our Barrow in Furness store as of 3rd May and would like to thank our customers and staff for their loyalty and support.
“We’re proud of the service we’ve offered and are committed to supporting our employees through this situation.”
He explained that the company had to, very rarely, look at shutting standalone stores that were “no longer profitable”.
In addition to its 160 physical stores, the brand also operates 861 shops in large Tesco outlets across the UK.
John Edwards, who was a manager at the store for a number of years, said he was “incredibly sad” to see it close, calling the site an “asset” to the community.
He explained the company had also made large donations to local charities and was involved in Barrow BID, a group which aims to revitalise the town centre.
John added: “It was always important to me it wasn’t just a shop, it had to be an experience and be somewhere kids were excited to go – it’s a huge shame to lose that.”
Shoppers previously reviewing their local branch praised a number of elements that the store boasted.
One wrote: “The staff here are incredible. It is obvious they love their jobs and nothing is too much trouble.
“We have been going to the store since it opened and it is one of only a few to be surviving the current climate in the town.”
Another put: “Really nice staff this, is literally one of the best Toy stores in barrow probs the best out of all of them.”
Someone else commented: “Very friendly & helpful staff we definitely came out with more things than we wanted xx”
It comes after toys, puzzles and board games store shut five locations in recent months.
Its Luton branch in the Luton Point shopping centre closed for good on January 25.
Meanwhile, its Croydon branch in the Whitgift shopping centre said goodbye to serving customers on February 1.
Three other branches have closed in recent months in Edinburgh, Brent Cross and Haslemere.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”