A MUCH-LOVED toy retailer with 160 branches nationwide has announced it will close one of its stores within days – and customers are devastated.
The Entertainer store in a popular Bristol shopping centre will shut up shop this week.
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The toy shop has been a family favourite within The Galleries Shopping Centre for several years.
However, the company’s CEO confirmed the shop would pull down its shutters on January 6.
Nick Hargreaves, Chief Operations Officer at The Entertainer, said: “Due to the planned redevelopment of The Galleries shopping centre, it is with great sadness that we have to announce the closure of our store within the centre, which has been part of the local community for several years.
“We would like to thank our staff for their incredible service through the years and of course our customers for their loyalty.
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“We’re working closely with our Galleries store team to look at opportunities for them elsewhere in the business.
“The Entertainer has three stores close to The Galleries for local shoppers to visit; Cabot Circus, Cribbs Causeway and Keynsham.
“The teams in-store will be delighted to welcome new faces, and customers can also continue to shop online at www.thetoyshop.com.
“Our mission is simple: to become the best-loved toyshop – one child, one community at a time and we’re very proud of the contribution that our store at The Galleries made in fulfilling that ambition over the years.”
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It comes just one month after the store announced they would be closing another one of its town centre branches, with locals left devastated.
The Entertainer store in Bishops Weald House, off Worthing Road in Horsham, is expected to close early next year.
The closest stores for those in Horsham are now Crawley & Haywards Heath.
And it’s not just toy stores that have been hit hard, many high street retailers have been struggling to get buy over the past few years, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Energy costs have risen and more shoppers than ever are choosing to order online rather than head into stores.
At the same time the cost of living has been rising, leading to shoppers cutting back on non-essential spending.
This has left some retailers grappling with budgets and have no choice but to close stores to cut costs.
Popular chains including M&Co, Paperchase and Wilko closed all stores in 2023.
Boots revealed it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.
B&M has closed nine of its stores since February this year.
Homebase closed a store last week leaving it with just 93 stores remaining since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.
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It’s not just shops either, food and pub chains have also been hit, resulting in brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing.
However, some chains have managed to defy high street troubles and are actually set to open new shops.
