In the year to February 2, the retailer notched up pre-tax profit of£674,643 compared with£862,307 the year before. Turnover increased from£46 million to£51 million.
The retailer said margins were up slightly and it was concentrating more on managing costs.
Managing director Gary Grant said: “Overall I’m happy with the performance in what is a challenging market. It’s got more challenging since mid-July and although we had a good week two weeks ago, the last two weeks have been awful. A lot of it is down to panic and uncertainty.”
However, he is cautiously optimistic about Christmas and said: “We have some fantastic value products coming through – I’m actually quite upbeat. I think we will finish well. Consumer numbers will stay in line with last year, although the average spend will drop.”
Grant, who is also chairman of the Toy Retailers’ Association, said toy specialists were being cautious on ordering to avoid carrying surplus stock after Christmas. He warned that, combined with suppliers’ trepidation in this economic climate, this means there may be some stock shortages this Christmas.
“I’ve pulled my order book in,” said Grant. “We’re placing orders on a weekly basis now. This time last year we had already taken orders for Christmas. This is a change in direction for The Entertainer.” He added: “It’s very likely there will be stock shortages [for toy retailers] this Christmas.”
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