“We had a good Black Friday, but with two weeks left to run it’s all to play for and we could do without these storms turning up every Saturday, because that’s definitely not helping.”

He says the business is “coming from a position of strength” during the all important Golden Quarter thanks to its expanded footprint from partnerships with Tesco, Moonpig, M&S and Matalan, but admits that across its 160+ standalone stores “everything is hard won at the moment”.

Murphy concedes that the retailer is likely to introduce discount in the final days of pre-Christmas trading to bolster sales – but says that because the bulk of ranges are not seasonally dependent so “that pressure to sell just isn’t quite the same in our business as it would be in many others”.

This year will mark Murphy’s second Christmas at The Entertainer after joining the toy specialist from John Lewis last September.

He’s certainly had a busy year, rolling out toy shop concessions into Tesco stores nationwide, growing the business’ international footprint in central Europe and the Middle East, and launching the brand’s first Christmas campaign. Retail Gazette sat down with Murphy to find out more about what’s been keeping The Entertainer busy this year and what it has in store for 2025.

Growing the footprint

The Entertainer has more than quadrupled its UK footprint this year as it rolled out concessions across 861 Tesco stores nationwide and in the Republic of Ireland.

The move, Murphy explains, has added about 50% to 60% on top of its UK and Ireland business.

“It’s taken a huge amount out of us this year as a business to, if you like, to swallow that elephant,” he says, sharing the team were opening 30 concessions each week for about 25 weeks.

However, he believes The Entertainer has “not even scratched the surface of the potential [the partnership] has” and that it could “ultimately double our business” one day.

“The deal with Tesco was signed in mid-December last year, which meant that we didn’t have the opportunity to do planned, ranging and buying for the full national Tesco business until about September, October, because the lead time for those toys is so long,” says Murphy.

This meant the retailer traded the first three quarters of the year “just putting together the best ranges we could from the product that was available”, he explains.

Murphy says the business has learnt a lot of about trading in a grocery retail, explaining that “price and newness speaks really loudly” to customers in a supermarket.

As such, the business has had to shift its merchandising and supply chain approach to recognize the “slightly different rhythm” in a grocery setting, says Murphy.

He explains The Entertainer’s commercial teams have “genuinely a list of 20 things” to act on in the new year, including better range planning.

“We realised that we’ve probably gone in at too low an average selling price on average, which is not to say that some of the lower priced toys shouldn’t be there – but it’s more the balance of the whole range,” Murphy notes.

The Entertainer’s partnership with Tesco falls under its ‘Toy Box’ b2b service, which allows partner retailers to their tailor toy offerings using its bespoke sourcing, ranging, wholesale or retail execution.

Murphy explains he’s hoping to grow the service in the new year after finding success with its current tie-ups, which also includes concessions inside 34 M&S stores and 150 Matalan locations.

“Matalan is long established and is probably now the kind of size and shape that it’s going to be. With M&S, we are in the process of deciding together on what our long term shape is going to be. I expect that we’ll be in a position to talk more about that early next year”.

It welcomed Moonpig to the fold in September to launch a curated selection of 200 toys from across The Entertainer and Early Learning Centre businesses and is already performing “ahead of what we’d expected”, Murphy notes.

He explains the business is in active discussions with several other UK retailers, but is tight-lipped on who it’s looking to partner with next and whether his old employer John Lewis is a possibility.

Meet Ray

The Entertainer kicked off the crucial Christmas trading period with the launch of its first big marketing campaign last month, introducing the world to Ray, a colourful stuffed bear.

Murphy explains that this is the first Christmas campaign The Entertainer has run which has gone beyond “presenting a toy as a solution at a certain price in a certain place”.

Murphy knows a thing or two about the power of a impactful festive campaign from his former employer John Lewis. Indeed, the toy specialist worked with John Lewis’ former creative agency Adam&EveDDB for a tear-jerking spotlight on the fickle nature of children’s relationships with their toys for its Christmas advert.

“It’s just a huge opportunity for us to become better known and better understood. [The campaign] was very deliberately meant to be using creative that would be stand out, that wouldn’t just be run of the mill.”

Murphy says the Christmas campaign is reflective of the new approach The Entertainer’s has taken to marketing this year.

“We’re developing a tone of voice that is more playful. We’re more visible,” he explains.

The retailer playfully mocked John Lewis’s attempts to price match the retailer in September when it announced the return of Never Knowingly Undersold.

“We hope to get some return in terms of increased footfall and customer awareness, but it really is about elevating the brand over two to three years,” says Murphy.

He says that Ray will be a permanent fixture on The Entertainer’s shelves and is “selling really well – but he won’t become the retailer’s mascot in the way Kevin the Carrot has for Aldi.

Murphy shares that it’s just the beginning of The Entertainer’s new marketing approach.

“We’ve got so much more we can do through influencers and social media, and that will be our first half of the year focus,” he says, adding “we have some strong plans for doing things that we haven’t done before next year”.

While he is pretty tight lipped about what The Entertainer has up its sleeve, Murphy shares that some of the plans will be focused on the Early Learning Centre, which it bought from Mothercare in 2019 just before the nursery specialist’s collapse.

“It’s only now that we honestly feel that we’ve got our feet planted steady enough that we could really do justice to Early Learning Centre from a product development, marketing and distribution perspective. We’ve got some big hopes for Early Learning Centre next year,” he says.

To infinity and beyond

While Murphy has big plans for the retailer in 2025, he admits that Labour’s Budget has “changed what we feel about our opportunities for growth and the viability of our own estate”.

He was hoping to grow the retailer’s own footprint after opening its first new stores in two years in Exeter and Milton Keynes this Autumn, but shares that its expansion plans are now being reviewed.

“We had at least six lined up for next year, arguably we could have got as far as 10. I don’t think there are 10 viable locations now because of the cost difference,” he explains.

“It’s not a straightforward answer, but I think the budget has reduced by at least half the number of viable locations that we would consider looking at.”

That said, he notes “most of our business development focus now needs to move internationally, simply because we are now so big in the UK, there’s just incrementally less for us to go after”.

“If I was to predict what 2025 will bring, I think we will announce some big new partnerships with retailers in the Middle East, and we’ll also do the same in Europe,” Murphy says, explaining “those are the two primary areas of focus at the moment”.

“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of something in the Far East and something in America, but those are further out for us right now.”

The Entertainer is just one retailer that has its sights set on expanding in the Middle East, which Murphy notes has “a lot of similarities with consumer behavior” in the UK.

That’s not to say the retailer will ignore its home grown business, as Murphy explains own brand growth is another priority for the year.

“Between Addo product and Early Learning Centre, product will have grown this year from 18% of our participation to 25% of our sales.

“Next year, it’s a really stretching target but we’re going to try and get to 30%. The strength of the ranges and the value they offer, we think that’s possible.”

After a busy year laying the foundations, it seems as though The Entertainer is just getting started on its growth ambitions as it aims for infinity and beyond.

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Speaking to Retail Gazette, he said the roll out of its toy shops to 861 of the supermarket’s stores across the UK and Ireland had added “about 50% to 60%” on top of its existing business.

However, he believes it has the potential to “ultimately double our business”.

The Entertainer completed its “significant expansion” with Tesco in October, delivering 4.5 million toys across Britain’s largest supermarket’s estate in just eight months.

Murphy said the team were opening 30 concessions each week for about 25 weeks and believes the business has “not even scratched the surface of the potential [the partnership] has”.

“The deal with Tesco was signed in mid-December last year, which meant that we didn’t have the opportunity to do planned, ranging and buying for the full national Tesco business until about September, October, because the lead time for those toys is so long,” he said.

Murphy explained this meant the retailer traded the first three quarters of the year “just putting together the best ranges we could from the product that was available”.

He said The Entertainer’s commercial teams have “genuinely a list of 20 things” to act on in the new year, including better range planning.

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The update resulted in three companies being demoted from the prestigious index, making way for new entrants.

Among the notable changes, board game maker Games Workshop Group has been promoted to the FTSE 100, while Frasers Group and B&M have been relegated to the FTSE 250. Meanwhile, Deliveroo has secured a spot in the FTSE 250 as part of the revised rankings.

In November, it was reported that Frasers would be booted off the FTSE 100 index as shares continued to slide amid its ongoing feud with Boohoo Group.

The Sports Direct owner returned to the London Stock Exchange’s blue-chip gauge in 2022 following a six-year absence.

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Meanwhile, last month it was reported that B&M’s shares had plunged 21% during the past three months.

The variety retailer saw its adjusted operating profit fall 1.8% to £258m in the six months to 28 September as it faced higher costs following an increase in stores and investment in its supply chain in France.

All changes from the review are set to be implemented at the close of business on 20 December, taking effect from 23 December.

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Owner Doug Putman told The Telegraph he does not see the music chain opening any new shops in 2025 after previously targeting between five and 10 each year.

He blames the move solely on the Budget and claims the country will be missing out on as much as £5m annual investment.

Putman, who rescued the chain in 2019, said: “We would love to continue to open stores, but I think obviously with the Budget, there are some worries and some concerns.

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“When we look at next year, we’ve got everything on pause so we could end up opening five stores. but I think more than likely we’re not. I think we’re probably getting close to zero.”

He added: “The cost to do it now and the risk that you take for every store has just become that much greater, so that in a lot of cases it’s not worth the risk.”

Putman also warned of potential jobs at HMV following the Chancellor’s decision to increase employers’ national insurance contributions.

“I would be surprised if we could find a way to get through this without cutting jobs,” he told The Guardian. He said retailers took on extra staff for Christmas and often kept some on permanently, but the industry was “probably not going to see as much of that this year”.

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The move means that customers looking to shop across Hornby, Scalextric, Corgi, Airfix and Pocher will have access to Frasers Plus’ buy now pay later options.

The new partnership takes the total number of retailers using the Sports Direct’s owners credit offer to over 20, including Frasers, Flannels, LookFantastic, Myprotein and Cult Beauty.

The retail giant’s managing director of financial services David Twigg said: “Rolling out Frasers Plus with Hornby marks another exciting development for the group, and we’re pleased to be able to offer Hornby customers – and our existing Frasers Plus customers – even more choice and a more flexible shopping experience, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

“Customers can also access exclusive benefits and enjoy the freedom to spread the cost of their purchases in a way that suits them.

Hornby Hobbies head of ecommerce Michael Manton added: “With the introduction of Frasers Plus, we’re thrilled to offer our customers a flexible and rewarding way to bring home their favourite models and sets.

“This partnership means collectors and hobbyists can now enjoy greater freedom in how they shop with us, just in time for the festive season.

“By adding this option, we’re not only enhancing convenience but also helping our customers dive deeper into their passions across Hornby, Scalextric, Airfix, Corgi, and Pocher.”

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The entertainment retailer said it is “devoting an entire floor of its flagship store to its newest venture”, adding that its hmv 363 Bookshop will open on 18 November ahead of the busy festive period, featuring a live events stage among a “curated range of hidden gems to excite and delight book enthusiasts”.

The floor features a range of current and classic works across music, film and popular culture including bestsellers such as A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, Stephen King’s Holly and Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer plus classics A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and George Orwell’s 1984.

Its Oxford Street flagship will be its first store to trial the wider retail of books, but hmv said it will look at further literary expansion across the portfolio of 121 stores in the UK.

The retailer‘s owner Doug Putman said: “Whilst we have sold books online and have a selection of books available in-store, I’ve always wanted to expand the offering. The hmv 363 Bookshop space at our flagship will be unlike any other bookshop on the high street remaining true to our unique hmv Shop concept which centres around fans and community.

“While music is central to the hmv offer, we believe passionately in giving fans of popular culture a place to come, meet and explore the things they care about so deeply with likeminded people.

“We’ve done that with fans of music, film, popular culture and now through a carefully curated selection of books.  We want to give our communities of readers a new place to connect with each other and celebrate the stories and characters they love.”

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The toy specialist revealed it had frozen hiring at its head office and said it could no longer open two shops it had planned after announcements made in last week’s Budget.

Chief executive Andrew Murphy told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that two of the retailer’s proposed new openings had failed their viability assessments.

He said: “We were just about to initiate the work and unfortunately the changes to National Insurance in particular just tipped that balance so those stores will now not be opening.”

Murphy is not the only chief executive to have spoken out following the government’s decision to raise employer contributions in April from 13.8% to 15% on a worker’s earnings above £175 a week.

Asda chair Lord Stuart Rose admitted that the upcoming £100m rise to the supermarket’s tax bill was “not an easy swallow”.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts warned the grocer has “some difficult decisions to take”, including raising its prices, as it looked to mitigate the impact of the 50% rise in its National Insurance bill.

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The toy maker’s festive display celebrates the magic of three popular franchises: Harry Potter, Paddington Bear, and Wicked.

All windows across the flagship feature scenes from these famous stories in a bid to captivate passers-by.

The official unveiling event, which included live performances from Wicked’s Glinda the good witch and carol singalongs, also saw the debut of a collaboration with Haribo, as 2,000 sweet treats were handed out to families.

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The toy retailer’s holiday festivities continue with interactive events, including meet-and-greets with Santa and workshops.

Last month Hamleys revealed its top toys for Christmas 2024, according to its expert buyers.

The list includes characters from film favourites, such as Stitch ‘Crack Me Up’ plush and Moana singing doll. The Lego Transformer Bumblebee and Bulldozer stunt bounce car also feature.

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Produced with the help of director Michael Gracey, the campaign shows how the retailer can “fulfil customers’ festive dreams no matter what they are”.

The advert, which goes live tonight (1 November) at 7:45pm, shows Trevor living out his dream as a rock star and performing his own cover of T-Rex’s classic hit ’20th Century Boy’ on top of a Marshall speaker mountain, while his best friend Connie appears as a fan in the crowd.

The campaign, which consists of TV, press, out-of-home, social and an activation, builds on the company’s “There’s More To Argos” brand platform, which launched last year.

Argos head of campaigns Laura Boothby said: “Our customers love Trevor the dinosaur and Connie the doll, so we’re thrilled they’re back again to spread some festive fun and magic in such an energetic and upbeat way.

“At Argos, whatever your loved ones are dreaming of this Christmas, we’ve got it covered. Whether it’s the latest and best in sound and tech, or the top toys of the season.”

Director Gracey added: “Bringing this unique Christmas story to life for Argos was a joy, merging Trev’s rockstar vision with Connie’s warmth to capture our collective desire for the perfect gift.”

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The online music retailer achieved a 1% increase in revenue in its second quarter, while total revenue for the six months to 30 September dipped 1% to £61.7m,

In June, Gear4Music launched a strategy aimed at returning to profit by 2024. It reported a pre-tax profit of £0.6m for the year ending March 2024, a turnaround from a £0.4 million loss the previous year.

For the first half of FY25, the business expects a pretax loss of £1.2m, reflecting a £0.7 m improvement from the same period last year.

It noted “significant traction” in its second-hand sales platform and anticipates continued growth in this area throughout the year.

The company also highlighted stronger performance in October, maintaining a full-year outlook aligning with market expectations.

It comes after Gear4music recently acquired audio equipment business Studiospares, as it expanded its own-brand portfolio.

Gear4music executive chair Andrew Wass explained: “We are pleased to report good progress in executing the growth strategy we announced in June, with a return to growth in FY25 Q2 and further growth momentum during October trading to date.

“We are also pleased to have further reduced our net debt, and improved our overall profitability compared with the same period last year.”

He continued: “This performance comes despite initial challenges with the rollout of a new AI-based marketing system during H1, which temporarily increased marketing costs and impacted the sales mix between our own-brand and other-brand products and our European sales.

“These issues have now been resolved, and our marketing investments have stabilised.”

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