Modern Slavery Statement 2024
This statement has been produced in line with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It outlines the actions taken by The Entertainer during the financial year ending January 2024 to prevent and address any risk of modern slavery or human trafficking within our business operations and supply chains.
Our Commitment
At The Entertainer, we are dedicated to conducting business responsibly, ethically, and with transparency. We continuously assess, implement, and strengthen systems and controls to ensure that slavery, forced labour, or any form of human trafficking have no place within our company or among our suppliers.
We are committed to collaborating with partners and suppliers who actively work to prevent modern slavery, ensuring respect for human rights and fair treatment of all individuals across our operations.
About The Business
The Entertainer is a diversified British toy retailer. Our business includes a network of wholly owned stores and two dedicated e-commerce sites that deliver the ‘The Entertainer’ and ‘Early Learning Centre’ brands.
In addition to our own stores, we work with leading UK retailers such as Tesco, M&S, Matalan, and Moonpig, and operate an international franchise model with over 200 stores across 18 countries.
The company is founded on strong values and a genuine sense of purpose. We donate 10% of our trading profits to various charitable initiatives and place great importance on the well-being of our employees and communities.
We uphold the dignity and rights of every person—especially children—and are firmly committed to eradicating all forms of slavery and human trafficking from our operations and supply network.
Our ongoing collaboration with Slave-Free Alliance, which supports the charity Hope for Justice, strengthens our efforts to identify, prevent, and respond to modern slavery risks across the globe.
Our Supply Chain
Our products are sourced from manufacturers around the world. We expect all suppliers to safeguard the rights and welfare of their employees and maintain safe, fair, and ethical workplaces.
Each supplier must comply with the principles outlined in our Supplier Code of Conduct, which prohibits:
- Forced, bonded, or child labour
- Slavery and human trafficking
- Discrimination and inhumane treatment
The Code also requires:
- Freedom to choose employment
- Fair wages and reasonable working hours
- Safe and hygienic working conditions
- Respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining
Our supply network is approved and monitored through a comprehensive factory audit programme, conducted in partnership with Addo Play Ltd, our sister company specialising in product development and sourcing.
In 2023, audits were carried out by our Addo Hong Kong team and QIMA, ensuring social and ethical compliance across key production sites.
Progress in 2023
A cross-functional team representing The Entertainer and Addo has continued to develop and oversee our modern slavery strategy.
Supply Chain and Employment
- Our updated Supplier Code of Conduct was reissued in November 2023, reinforcing standards around fair pay, working hours, health and safety, and environmental responsibility.
- Physical factory visits in China resumed following COVID-19 restrictions, allowing us to assess eight sites in person. Corrective action plans were implemented where needed, and no modern slavery concerns were identified.
- Sourcing restrictions from high-risk regions were introduced through our Vendor QA Manual in November 2023.
- We reviewed our UK labour agencies and confirmed their recruitment processes meet the necessary standards to identify and prevent forced labour risks.
- Regular internal audits ensured compliance with company policy and legal obligations.
- Labour agency audits confirmed active Modern Slavery policies across all engaged third-party providers.
- Assessment using ILO indicators of forced labour found no evidence of forced labour within our UK operations.
Training and Awareness
- Targeted training was delivered by Slave-Free Alliance to our Addo and UK teams, enhancing their ability to identify and respond to modern slavery risks.
- Store and office managers completed mandatory online training, focusing on practical indicators of exploitation and steps to report concerns.
Due Diligence and Governance
Our Modern Slavery Working Party, made up of managers from across the business (Buying, Logistics, Supply Chain, QA, Legal, Risk, and People teams), meets regularly to monitor progress, address issues, and agree on future actions.
Updates on progress are presented to the Operating Board throughout the year.
In 2023, we expanded our independent whistleblowing service (managed by Safecall) to include our UK warehouse teams and suppliers. This confidential platform allows anyone to raise concerns about potential modern slavery or unethical practices.
Policies
Our policies provide the framework for ethical conduct across our organisation and supply base:
- Supplier Code of Conduct – sets out standards for suppliers, including prohibitions on forced and child labour, and expectations for fair working conditions.
- Modern Slavery Policy – regularly reviewed to align with legal and ethical requirements.
- Recruitment Policy – includes right-to-work verification, duplicate bank account checks, and in-person interviews to prevent potential exploitation.
Future Actions
We remain committed to continuous improvement and will take the following steps in 2024:
- Continue ethical factory audits with third-party and in-house auditors across our key manufacturing partners in China.
- Conduct additional supplier visits in the first half of 2024.
- Monitor and update policies, setting KPIs to measure progress.
- Maintain audits of UK labour providers, including full reviews of our primary warehouse sites and new East Midlands partner facility.
- Extend our Safecall whistleblowing service to all colleagues globally, enabling confidential reporting of modern slavery or unsafe working conditions.