Expansion's name of game for stallholders

Jun 11 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A FORMER Newcastle market stall has enjoyed the fastest year of growth in its history – in which it has taken on 60 staff – and now plans to open 29 more stores in the next three years.

Little over a decade ago video games retailer Grainger Games was a stall in Newcastle’s Grainger market run by father and son team Steven and John Bowyer.

It has since opened 21 shops in the North East and in Scotland, building a 150-strong workforce. And now, fuelled by year-on-year revenue growth, it is aiming to become a 50-store empire by 2012.

Company spokesman Tony Blenkinsop said it would open three stores this year, including one at a former butcher’s in Billingham and two in the Darlington area as well as modifying its headquarters in Longbenton, North Tyneside.

He also said the company’s rapid transformation from market stall to the UK’s largest independent games retailer was demonstrated by the scale of Grainger’s staff functions.

“Staff parties used to be quite quiet, informal affairs. We had 150 people at our last one at the Hilton and the employee of the year won a two-week break to Antigua while the manager of the year won a trip to Beijing. As long as the growth remains, the expansion will continue as long as it’s viable. We plan to continue growing and we can’t see where that’s going to stop.”