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Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Britain's biggest toy chain with over 160 UK stores to close town centre site for good TODAY
It has made charitable donations and has been praised as a 'community asset' PLAY TIME'S OVER Britain's biggest toy chain with over 160 UK stores to close town centre site for good TODAY Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR UK toy chain is closing the doors to one its town centre stores for the last time today. The Entertainer is ceasing operation of its outlet in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria from today. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 The Entertainer's Barrow-in-Furness outlet first opened in 2017 Credit: Google Maps The store has been one of The Entertainers more than 160 stores in the UK, which took over from an Argos eight years ago. Staff and customers have expressed their disappointment in the stores closure. Keith Stenhouse, Head of Region at The Entertainer, shared his regret: "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 it was a necessary decision from the company to shut down standalone stores that were "no longer profitable". This particular Entertainer store in Cumbria gained notoriety in the past due to the large donations it has made to charity, The Mail reports. It gave away large amounts of toys to the children's ward of Furness General Hospital during Christmas the year it opened. The company has also made large donations to local charities, and was involved in Barrow BID, a group working to revitalise the town centre. Taking to social media, shoppers reacted to the announcement of the scores closure. One wrote: "Staff where brilliant I wish them every bit of luck in future as they always where very interactive with the kids it's such a shame." Aldi shoppers race to the Middle Aisle to grab kid's toys Another added: "It's a shame I always go here with grandson." A third also posted: "It's such a shame it's a lovely shop for the kiddies and it's in town which is so important." John Edwards, who managed the store for a number of years, also expressed he was "incredibly sad" to see its closure, calling the site an "asset" to the community. 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." This closure is among a number of stores that have been shuttered by The Entertainer in the past six months. Other include outlets in Cameron Toll, Edinburgh, and Croydon, south London. In January, its branch in Luton Point shopping centre shut for good, much to the dismay of the loca community. One reacted to the news and said: "Luton is on its knees." Andrew Murphy OBE, group chief executive at The Entertainer, explained the store had closed after its lease agreement came to an end. Speaking at the time of the closure, he said: "Like most large national retailers, we continuously assess potential new locations while deciding whether to renew those shops which have reached the end of their lease arrangements."
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Britain's biggest toy chain with over 160 UK stores to close town centre site for good TODAY
A MAJOR UK toy chain is closing the doors to one its town centre stores for the last time today. The Entertainer is ceasing operation of its outlet in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria from today. 1 The store has been one of The Entertainers more than 160 stores in the UK, which took over from an Argos eight years ago. Staff and customers have expressed their disappointment in the stores closure. Keith Stenhouse, Head of Region at The Entertainer, shared his regret: "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 it was a necessary decision from the company to shut down standalone stores that were "no longer profitable". This particular Entertainer store in Cumbria gained notoriety in the past due to the large donations it has made to charity, The Mail reports. It gave away large amounts of toys to the children's ward of Furness General Hospital during Christmas the year it opened. The company has also made large donations to local charities, and was involved in Barrow BID, a group working to revitalise the town centre. Taking to social media, shoppers reacted to the announcement of the scores closure. One wrote: "Staff where brilliant I wish them every bit of luck in future as they always where very interactive with the kids it's such a shame." Aldi shoppers race to the Middle Aisle to grab kid's toys Another added: "It's a shame I always go here with grandson." A third also posted: "It's such a shame it's a lovely shop for the kiddies and it's in town which is so important." John Edwards, who managed the store for a number of years, also expressed he was "incredibly sad" to see its closure, calling the site an "asset" to the community. 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." This closure is among a number of stores that have been shuttered by The Entertainer in the past six months. Other include outlets in Cameron Toll, Edinburgh, and Croydon, south London. In January, its branch in Luton Point shopping centre shut for good, much to the dismay of the loca community. Andrew Murphy OBE, group chief executive at The Entertainer, explained the store had closed after its lease agreement came to an end. Speaking at the time of the closure, he said: "Like most large national retailers, we continuously assess potential new locations while deciding whether to renew those shops which have reached the end of their lease arrangements." 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."
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Ruth Buzzi Dies: The ‘Rowan & Martin Laugh-In' Star Was 88
Actress and comedian Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame in the 1968 to 1973 NBC variety/sketch comedy Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died on May 1. She was 88. 'Ruthie left us while peacefully sleeping yesterday evening at home. She'd been in hospice care, disabled from a stroke in 2022 following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's ten years earlier,' read a message from her family on Facebook. Born July 24, 1936 in Westerly, Rhode Island, Ruth Buzzi's first job in show business was at age 19, traveling with singer Rudy Vallee in a live musical and comedy act during her summer break from college. She moved to New York City after graduation and was hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical revue, the first of 19 in which she performed around the East Coast. Buzzi debuted on television in variety series The Garry Moore Show in 1964, and she was a member of the ensemble on the The Entertainers in 1965. Following a guest spot on sitcom The Monkees in 1967, she landed the recurring role of Margie 'Pete' Peterson on the Marlo Thomas comedy That Girl. Other guest appearances followed, including Night Gallery, Here's Lucy and Love, American Style until her big break came with Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in. 'We laughed, and laughed, and laughed. It never even felt like I was going to work. It was pure spontaneous fun,' said Buzzi at a session on Laugh-In at the Television Critics Winter Press Tour in 2011. Buzzi was one of only four cast members who were regulars on the breakout hit for its entire six season run. Among her recurring characters on Laugh-In were spinster Gladys Ormphby; Busy-Buzzi, a gossip columnist; Doris Swizzler, a cocktail-lounge patron who always got smashed with husband Leonard (Dick Martin); one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses; and Flicker Farkle. Following Laugh-In, Buzzi appeared opposite Jim Nabors in the Saturday morning comedy The Lost Saucer from Sid and Marty Krofft from 1975 to 1976. In 1979, she co-starred on the Canadian children's comedy show Whatever Turns You On and was active both as a guest star and a voice actor in dozens of TV series (including CHiPs, Alice, Days of Our Lives, Trapper John, M.D., Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Addams Family and The Pink Panther). In 1993, Buzzi joined the cast of Sesame Street as shopkeeper, Ruthie, as part of the Around the Corner set expansion. She also voiced Suzie Kabloozie and her pet cat, Feff in animated inserts that were shown on the show from 1994 to 2008. Buzzi also appeared in numerous TV commercials, including Clorox 2, Clairol and Ban roll-on deodorant, and she voiced Granny Goodwitch for Sugar Crisp cereal. She had a nightclub act across the United States, including at The Sahara and MGM Grand hotels in Las Vegas. She appeared eight times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. And her film resume included ding Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Freaky Friday, The North Avenue Irregulars and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Memorial arrangements will be made by Lacy Funeral Home on Stephenville, Texas. with the details to be announced. The family requests donating to Alzheimer's research ( in lieu of flowers.
