In an age where retail headlines are often about closures, bankruptcies, and online competition, it’s refreshing, almost startling, to read about a brick-and-mortar business making a bold, positive move. That’s exactly what The Entertainer has done.
The Entertainer is the UK’s largest chain of toy shops. The town where I live has an Entertainer store, and as you enter, you’re taken back to being a kid again. Floor-to-ceiling toys to delight people of any age!
This month, Gary and Catherine Grant, the founders of The Entertainer, announced they’re handing over 100% ownership of the business to its 1,900 employees.
That’s not a typo. It’s not a PR stunt. It’s a full transfer to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), meaning every staff member, from the stockroom team to head office, will have a stake in the company’s future.
And yes, that includes a share of the profits, tax-free!
If you’re an Affiliate Marketer, Network Marketer, or Online Business Owner, you might be wondering: “Nice story, but what’s that got to do with me?”
As it turns out, quite a lot.
What’s Happening at The Entertainer
Founded in 1981 with a single toy shop in Amersham, The Entertainer has grown into a retail giant with over 170 stores across the UK and a growing international presence. Rather than selling to a corporate buyer or a private equity firm (which often leads to the business being sliced, diced, and stripped of its soul), the Grants decided to protect the culture, values, and future of the company by putting it into the hands of the people who make it run every day.
Here’s the quick-fire version:
- Ownership transfer complete by September 2025.
- Employee profit-share bonuses are tax-free because the UK government actively encourages EOTs.
- A Colleague Advisory Board so staff can actually influence decisions rather than just “feeling involved”.
- Leadership to be steered by CEO Andrew Murphy, formerly of the John Lewis Partnership—another successful employee-owned business.
- Core values, including charity initiatives and the no-Sunday-opening policy, will be preserved.
What’s remarkable is the psychology behind this decision. It’s not just about money. It’s about giving people real ownership, the kind that changes how you think, act, and commit to your work.
And this is where the parallels with online business ownership start to emerge.
The Ownership Effect: Why It Matters
When you own something, your mindset changes. You see problems differently. You care about the outcomes because you have skin in the game. You’re no longer just “doing a job”; you’re building something that reflects who you are.
For employees at The Entertainer, this means that their daily choices, whether it’s customer service, stock management, or merchandising, are directly tied to their own future rewards.
For you, as an online business owner, it’s the same principle…
Whether you run an affiliate marketing empire or a network marketing team, your sense of ownership drives the quality of your work and the energy you project to your audience.
There’s also the knock-on effect on customers. People can smell ownership a mile off. They can tell when you’re passionate about what you do versus when you’re just going through the motions. In a retail store, it shows up in the smile you get at the till. Online, it shows up in the authenticity of your content, the care in your customer interactions, and the integrity of your offers.
Retail Trends and Online Lessons
Employee ownership isn’t new in the UK. John Lewis, Richer Sounds, Riverford Organic Farmers, and Go Ape have all embraced the model, with positive results in morale, productivity, and customer loyalty.
What’s interesting is the strategic intent: these businesses are thinking long-term. They’re prioritising stability over quick exits, community over anonymity, and shared success over centralised profit-taking.
For an online entrepreneur, that’s a business masterclass.
Too many people treat online business ownership like a weekend project. Great for quick wins, but abandoned at the first sign of effort. The Entertainer’s example shows the power of building something to last, something with structure, values, and a stake for everyone involved.
It’s the difference between throwing up a one-page affiliate site for a trend-driven product versus building a sustainable brand that delivers value year after year.
Psychology: The Magic of Real Ownership
There’s a reason “fake it until you make it” isn’t enough in business. Pretending to care never generates the same results as genuine buy-in. When ownership is real, it shifts three key psychological levers:
- Accountability – You take responsibility for results. There’s no invisible safety net; success or failure is tied to your actions.
- Pride – You want to do work you’re proud of because it reflects back on you.
- Persistence – You push through challenges because the rewards are personal, not abstract.
In affiliate marketing, for example, the difference between a hobbyist and a pro is often this ownership mindset. The hobbyist blames the network, the product, or the traffic source. The pro owns every step of the funnel, every test, every tweak.
Your Audience Feels It Too
Here’s where it gets interesting: ownership doesn’t just affect you; it affects how your audience perceives you. If you’re in network marketing and you’re half-hearted, your team will mirror that attitude. If you’re an online course creator who doesn’t believe in your own product, your students won’t either.
The Entertainer’s customers will feel the change, even if they can’t quite articulate it. A shop full of people who benefit directly from happy customers is going to feel different from one run by people counting down the hours to clock-off. Similarly, an online brand run by someone who lives and breathes their mission radiates authenticity that can’t be faked.
Building Ownership into Your Online Business
Not every online business can (or should) hand out literal shares to its audience or affiliates. But you can build psychological ownership into your brand in ways that motivate, inspire, and retain people:
- Involve your affiliates in product feedback, not just promotion.
- Share wins and growth milestones with your community.
- Give your team decision-making power where it matters.
- Recognise contributions publicly – people take more ownership when their role is valued.
Think of it this way: ownership is a strategy, not just a legal arrangement. It’s about creating an environment where everyone connected to your business feels they have a stake in its success.
Why This Moment Matters
The Entertainer could have taken the easy route: sell to the highest bidder, pocket the cash, and let the new owners strip away costs until the brand was unrecognisable. Instead, they chose to double down on the people who helped them build the company in the first place, and I love that.
That’s not just good ethics, it’s good business. Engaged, motivated, and invested people are the most valuable asset any company can have, whether that’s in a high-street toy shop or an online membership site.
Final Thought
In many ways, The Entertainer’s move is a masterclass in sustainable online business ownership despite being a retail case study. It shows that when you give people real skin in the game, you get commitment, creativity, and care in return.
As an affiliate marketer, network marketer, or online entrepreneur, you may not have a warehouse full of LEGO sets to manage. But you do have something just as powerful: the ability to create a business where you and everyone connected to it feels genuine ownership.
Because at the end of the day, ownership is not just about who holds the title deed, it’s about who shows up like it’s theirs. And when you do that, your customers, your partners, and your bank account will all notice the difference.
