The Entertainer bucks UK toy retail trends

The past year has been no economic joyride for UK retailers, and with Christmas just around the corner, it doesn't help that the British Retail Consortium and the Office for National Statistics' retail sales figures from July to September found that overall sales have slowed down, growing only by 0.6%. Extensive discounting across the territory also hasn't provided much relief, as material costs have been rising for non-food retailers, putting the pressure on margins. Further compounding the situation is that consumer confidence is at an all-time low, and the BRC found that only one in five people in Great Britain believe recession will be over by this time next year. Toy sales have not gone unscathed, and in a climate where five independently owned toy chains across the UK have gone out of business in the last five years, it's quite the feat that UK-based independent toy shop The Entertainer is defying economic trends and actually posting sales growth.