Toys R Us at TGJones in the UK

There's a Toys R Us inside the TGJones in Cambridge.

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital earlier this year WHSmith shops have been undergoing a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

WHSmith on the high street, and travel stores.

There were around 500 high street WHSmith shops, and another 580 travel stores in the UK. The WHSmith shops at railway stations, service stations and airports etc. are not affected by the rebrand as they were not part of the sale.

Toys R Us at TGJones and WHSmith.

As well being inside the rebranded TGJones shops, the relaunched Toys R Us brand can be found in sections of some travel hub WHSmith stores.

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene in 2022 with an online presence and in 2023 with concessions opening inside some WH Smith shops. There are currently over 90 Toys R Us stores open nationwide.

Find out more.

Visit the TGJones, Toys R Us and WHSmith websites for more information on the brands and their locations.

Related blog posts:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones
• WHSmith
• Retail

TGJones in the UK

A look at two new TGJones shops in Leeds.

We saw our first two of the newly branded TGJones shops while in Leeds recently.

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital earlier this year WHSmith shops have been undergoing a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

A sign at TGJones in Leeds city centre

WHSmith on the high street, and travel stores.

There were around 500 high street WHSmith shops, and another 580 travel stores in the UK. The WHSmith shops at railway stations, service stations and airports etc. are not affected by the rebrand as they were not part of the sale.

Toys R Us at TGJones and WHSmith.

It'll be interesting to see how the sale and rebrand affects the relationship between Toys R Us and the two brands. The relaunched Toys R Us brand can be found in sections of some high street and travel hub WHSmith stores, so I imagine there'll be Toys R Us concessions within both TGJones and WHSmith shops too...

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene in 2022 with an online presence and in 2023 with concessions opening inside some WH Smith shops. There are currently over 90 Toys R Us stores open nationwide.

Find out more.

Visit the WHSmith, TGJones and Toys R Us websites for more information on the brands and their locations.

Related blog posts:

• From WHSmith to TGJones
• WHSmith
• TGJones
• Retail
• Leeds

Free Crazy Golf in Skipton on Friday 1st August

There will be a free-to-play Crazy Golf course in Skipton, North Yorkshire on Friday 1st August.

Skipton BID is organising a day of activities to celebrate Yorkshire Day on Friday 1st August.

One of the activities on offer will be a free-to-play 9-hole Crazy Golf course set-up in the Canal Basin in the town.

Find out more.

You can find out more about the Yorkshire Day celebrations in Skipton on the Welcome to Skipton website.

Summer Mini Golf in Slough

There will be a Summer Mini Golf course event in Slough, Berkshire at the end of this month.

Slough BID have organised a Summer Mini Golf event with a pop-up course set-up in Town Square, Slough on Tuesday 29th, Wednesday 30th and Thursday 31st July. 

Find out more.

Visit the Slough BID website for more information.

From WHSmith to TGJones

Changes are afoot on the UK high street with TGJones replacing WHSmith.

The WHSmith branding will be changed to TGJones on the remaining stores UK high street stores.

WHSmith in Oldham (April 2025)

Yesterday marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years.

WHSmith shops will be undergoing a rebrand to the new name of TGJones. This follows the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital earlier this year.

One of the WHSmith travel hub shops that will remain - this one is at Manchester Piccadilly railway station (April 2025)

There are around 500 high street WHSmith shops, and another 580 travel stores in the UK. The WHSmith shops at railway stations, service stations and airports etc. will not be affected by the rebrand as they were not part of the sale.

It'll be interesting to see how long the rebrand takes and what a TGJones store looks like. We've got a WHSmith in Stockport town centre, so I'll be keeping an eye on that.

I wonder how many years after the rebrand we'll still be seeing remnants, relics and ghost signs of the WHSmith brand on the high street?

Have you seen a TGJones store yet?

Toys R Us at TGJones and WHSmith.

Toys R Us at the WH Smith shop in Salisbury in December 2024

It'll also be interesting to see how this affects the relationship between Toys R Us and the two brands. The relaunched Toys R Us brand can be found in sections of some high street and travel hub WHSmith stores, so I imagine there'll be Toys R Us concessions within both TGJones and WHSmith.

Toys R Us at WH Smith at the Trafford Centre in September 2024

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene in 2022 with an online presence and in 2023 with concessions opening inside some WH Smith shops. There are currently over 90 Toys R Us stores open nationwide.

Find out more.

Visit the WHSmith, TGJones and Toys R Us websites for more information on the brands and their locations.

Watermelon Specialists

As today is Summerween - a day to carve a Jack-o-Melon - here's a look at one of my all-time favourite niche businesses.

Logman Ltd - a business on Caledonian Road in London that specialises in watermelons

Free Crazy Golf in Barrow town centre this Saturday - 14th June

There will be a free-to-play pop-up crazy golf course in Barrow town centre on Saturday 14h June.

You can play a free crazy golf course in Barrow town centre between 10am and 4pm this Saturday.

The course is being brought to the town by Barrow Business Improvement District to help encourage people to visit the town.

The crazy golf course is set-up in the town several times a year for various events.

Check out the Barrow Business Improvement District website for more information.

Games and fun at the King Pins Arndale Summer Mixer

Attending the King Pins Arndale Summer Mixer event in Manchester.

I attended the King Pins Arndale Summer Mixer business networking event at King Pins in the Manchester Arndale Centre yesterday for an evening of competitive fun and games.

King Pins Arndale recently celebrated the venue's first birthday and I've previously been there to play the minigolf course on my Crazy World of Minigolf Tour (in October last year in a match-up versus my fellow minigolf adventurer Tom Loftus from the USA), and Emily and I have swung by for drinks and a bite to eat there too.

The indoor Mini Golf course at King Pins

This time I got to play Tenpin Bowling, Ice-Free Curling and Tech Darts - what a triathlon!

I hadn't had a game of tenpin bowling for ages, and while I only got one strike I did hit quite a few nines and spares.

One of the two Ice-Free Curling rinks

I'd never played Ice-Free Curling before and I really enjoyed it.

Ice-Free Curling gets the thumbs-up from me

King Pins has two curling sheets in their rink! Playing in two teams the match got very competitive, with plenty of strategy and tactics brought into play.

A well placed stone

Curling is similar to boules/petanque in the scoring and gameplay - another one of those games that is easy to pick up and play, but very tricky to master!

There was plenty of drama and action in our curling match-up!

We finished the evening with the Tech Darts where we were able to play a range of different games, as well as games of 201 and 501, with the tech taking care of the scoring for us. It was a reminder for me to get my dartboard up at home as I haven't played for quite a while and my 'arrers were pretty rusty!

King Pins is a nicely set-up space with plenty of room to enjoy the games with your group, without knocking into or overlapping with others. While me and the other attendees of the event were playing there were lots of other groups, couples and families visiting the venue for a game or two.

Ten needed...

...double 5 got

As well as the tenpin bowling, tech darts and ice-free curling King Pins Arndale also offers a packed arcade in the basement, shuffleboard (and bank shot shuffleboard and tech shuffle), a batting cage, duck pin bowling, wild west shooting, and karaoke booths!

I'm looking forward to playing more Ice-Free Curling in the future

The darts area has three tech dart boards and plenty of space around the oche

If you haven't yet been, I recommend a visit to King Pins for yourself. Even if you're not playing any games it's a chilled out spot to get a drink and relax for a while during a shopping trip at the Arndale.

As well as the Arndale Centre venue in Manchester, you can find King Pins locations at the Trafford Palazzo in Manchester and Bristol. The new Glasgow King Pins opens later this month, with the Leeds location opening in August, and a Belfast King Pins opening soon!

I'm still yet to have a go on the Hungry Hungry Hippos arcade game - it looks very cool

Check out the King Pins website for more information.

Many thanks to the team at King Pins for organising the free Summer Mixer event. It's always nice to get out and about, meet new people, and network. And it's a real bonus if the venue is as fun as King Pins!

A cool retro shopfront at The iT Store in Canterbury

How cool is this window display at The iT Store in Canterbury?

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook

I published my minigolf marketing ebook eight years ago today.

My ebook to help minigolf players better market themselves, their clubs, tournaments and courses is available to purchase from Amazon.

Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle as you can download the Kindle App on iOS, Android, Mac & PC.

Minigolf Marketing

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and 20+ of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game.

I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Emily and I have visited 1,082 courses in the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've got 39 from that original list left to visit.

However, they've been joined by hundreds more new courses opening up across the UK, making our travels never-ending!

The minigolf boom continues

The game is really booming and new courses are being announced all the time.

100+ new courses are being created each year - some are on old sites/locations, some are completely new venues, while others are in planning/development, or under construction.

There are also quite a few other adventure golf, crazy golf and minigolf courses that are short-term 'pop-ups', some of which have been used as proof of concept businesses and developed into permanent courses. 

The minigolf world has a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing gives federations, associations, courses, clubs and our fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Much of the guidance could also be applied to a number of other sports clubs and organisations to help raise their profile and boost memberships.

Buy The Minigolfer’s Guide to Marketing ebook on Amazon.

The KitKat x Blockbuster pop-up video shop in Soho, London

KitKat has created a 'Blockbuster Video' pop-up shop in Soho, London to launch its new sharing chocolate bars.

The KitKat x Blockbuster pop-up video shop is part of a nostalgia inspired campaign to launch KitKat's new sharing bars.

The chocolate/video shop can be found on Greek Street in Soho, London until tomorrow, Saturday 12th April. It opened on Wednesday 9th April.

Check out the Nestlé website for more information about the KitKat x Blockbuster pop-up.

Unfortunately I couldn't make it down to London to visit the store. However, my friend Gareth Holmes went along today! Gareth joined the queue and sent me these photos from his visit to the Blockbuster store!

Browse the VHS tapes on the shelves

Have a break from browsing

Browse some more

A nice selection of old tellies

Visitors to the pop-up received a free KitKat sharing bar and a code to stream a film

Nostalgia and lost brands

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

During the pandemic our interest in lost brands and retail history was piqued and over the last five years we've been to several former Blockbuster Video stores around the UK, as well as finding some other old, and some still open, video shops on our travels.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013 and there is now only one Blockbuster Video store in the world - it's in Bend, Oregon, USA!

The KitKat x Blockbuster pop-up in Soho, London

KitKat has created a 'Blockbuster Video' pop-up shop in Soho, London as part of a new promotional campaign.

The pop-up video shop is part of a nostalgia inspired campaign to launch KitKat's new sharing bars.

The video/chocolate shop can be found on Greek Street in Soho, London from Wednesday 9th to Saturday 12th April.

Unfortunately I can't make it down to London to visit, but luckily my friend Sarah Ward was able to swing by today! Sarah joined the queue and sent me these snaps from her visit to the Blockbuster store!

Sarah told me that while there was a fairly long queue and the pop-up was proving popular, the queue did go down quite quickly. As part of the experience visitors receive a KitKat sharing bar along with a code to stream a movie.

Check out the Nestlé website for opening times and more information about the KitKat / Blockbuster pop-up.

Nostalgia and lost brands

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

During the pandemic our interest in lost brands and retail history was piqued and over the last five years we've been to several former Blockbuster Video stores around the UK, as well as finding some other old, and some still open, video shops on our travels.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013 and there is now only one Blockbuster Video store in the world - it's in Bend, Oregon, USA!

KitKat x Blockbuster pop-up in Soho, London

KitKat has created a Blockbuster Video pop-up shop in Soho, London! It's there from today (9th April) until Saturday (12th April).

The pop-up video shop is part of a nostalgia inspired campaign to launch KitKat's new sharing bars.

The shop will be located on Greek Street in Soho, London from Wednesday 9th to Saturday 12th April.

Check out the Nestlé website for more information about the KitKat / Blockbuster pop-up.

From the photos I've seen on social media, the KitKat/Blockbuster 'video shop' looks very cool.

Nostalgia and lost brands

We've spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

During the pandemic our interest in lost brands and retail history was piqued and over the last five years we've been to several former Blockbuster Video stores around the UK, as well as finding some other old and some still open video shops on our travels.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013 and there is now only one Blockbuster Video store in the world - it's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

Tows R Us

Spotting a 'Tows R Us' recovery truck!