3 days ago
I'm giving up control of my toy empire — and it's not a tax dodge
I am meeting Gary Grant in the Playmobil room, but before we start he shows me round the headquarters of the Entertainer Group, the toy retailer that he founded.
The meeting rooms are named and decorated in tribute to famous characters that have helped to keep the old-fashioned toy industry afloat despite the rise of video games and children spending ever more time on TikTok rather than with dolls or racing cars. There's a bright yellow Minion one, a pink Barbie room; in the Batman room employees on laptops are working on quarterly cash flow. In the Toy Story meeting room, there are little plastic soldiers lined up on top of the TV screen used for video conferences. 'Because if you can't have some fun working in toys, you're screwed,' says Grant, 66.
