At 130 years old, Pleasure Beach in Blackpool is best known for its seaside amusement park atmosphere, wooden roller coasters, the Big One and its shows. Its retail operation attracts less attention, but Damian Jackson, head of retail, frames it as part of the guest experience rather than an exit gift shop. The flagship store sits at the main entrance in the Casino building, supported by outlets across the site. Jackson oversees physical stores, e-commerce, ride photography and merchandise development.
Pleasure Beach serves a wide audience in a single day: first-time families, school groups with limited spending money, teenage friends and couples, international tourists, lifelong fans and coaster enthusiasts. Their reasons to buy differ. A family may want a traditional souvenir; an enthusiast may want an accurate collectable tied to a ride. Teenagers may respond to confectionery, accessories and trend-led apparel, while heritage-minded visitors may value nostalgia and craftsmanship. Jackson says every range must have a reason for existing, a clear customer and an authentic connection to the resort.
Sales data is combined with observation and guest feedback. Reports show what is selling; time in shops and conversations with staff and guests help explain why. The team asks whether a product is desirable beyond the logo: would someone wear it away from the resort, would an enthusiast display it, would a child be excited by it, would it remind a family of their visit? The aim is to give each product a purpose and audience.
A curated portfolio, not unlimited choice
Ranges are built around customer missions, price points and engagement levels: impulse items such as confectionery, magnets, keyrings and badges; practical products such as bottles, bags and ponchos; fashion-led apparel and accessories; children's products and plush; and premium or limited editions for enthusiasts and collectors. Attraction-specific merchandise sits alongside broader branding, licensed ranges, playful products and heritage collections. Jackson argues that choice must be edited so that every product has a purpose, a customer and an appropriate price.
Aviktas is the strongest example. Rather than applying a ride logo to a set of products, the range was built around the attraction's visual world: a golden snake, emerald colouring, mythology and mystery. Retail was involved early, which Jackson says is when merchandise is strongest: as part of the original creative conversation, not an afterthought. A limited run of 50 models priced at £250 each sold out, indicating willingness among some guests to pay for authenticity and detail. It is a single example, not evidence of overall retail performance.
Process, heritage and licensed brands
Development begins with discussion of the attraction, its audience and the opportunity. Jackson says the team considers story, visual identity, emotional impact, fashion relevance and long-term importance within the wider portfolio. ICON lends itself to a clean, contemporary, fashion-led treatment. Heritage attractions such as the Big Dipper and Grand National allow the team to draw on archive artwork, engineering details and nostalgia.
Materials, colours, proportions, trims, embroidery, packaging and shop presentation all matter. Commercial fundamentals are considered alongside: intended customer, expected demand, price points, production quantities, lead times and sales locations. The product must be creatively distinctive but commercially viable. Nostalgia is central because the resort has been part of family traditions for 130 years. Its archive of imagery, typography, posters, architecture and stories can be reinterpreted through apparel, homeware and collectables without making everything feel old-fashioned. Playful assets add humour, colour and character for children, families and casual visitors.
Licensed attractions, including Nickelodeon and Aardman properties such as Wallace and Gromit, require partnership between the resort, the IP owner and approved suppliers. Brand guidelines and approvals apply, but Jackson says the strongest partnerships are collaborative: the licensor protects the brand while the retailer explains what visitors respond to. To compete with general online retailers, Pleasure Beach pursues relevance and exclusivity through exclusive designs, attraction references, location-specific details, personalisation and products that celebrate the visit.
Demand is moving toward specificity
Jackson reports growing interest in attraction-specific merchandise, premium apparel, subtle branding, collectables, limited editions and products with a clear story. Guests also want items they can use or wear beyond the visit; a hoodie, cap, bottle or bag must work as an attractive product in its own right. Enthusiasts are especially interested in accurate details, models, technical artwork and products that recognise an attraction's history or engineering. Generic souvenirs and heavily branded products without an additional story have become less compelling, although keyrings, magnets, mugs and confectionery remain important. Their design, quality and relevance still have to evolve.
The unglamorous work behind the offer
Stock accuracy and availability are, in Jackson's account, the least glamorous and most critical parts of the operation. A strong product cannot generate revenue if it is in a stockroom, has not been reordered, is incorrectly priced or is missing from where guests expect to find it. Deliveries, stock movement, replenishment, pricing, signage and daily compliance checks protect the guest experience. Clear pricing builds trust, good housekeeping makes products more desirable and replenishment prevents missed purchases.
Suppliers are treated as creative and commercial partners. Pleasure Beach shares the story, ambition and intended customer behind a range. Jackson values suppliers who bring ideas, understand the brand, respond to feedback and can translate a concept into a commercially viable product; reliability in quality, communication, lead times, compliance, pricing and consistency is essential. Price architecture lets guests enter a range at different levels, from a small memento to a premium collectable. Trade-up is encouraged by showing added value through materials, detail, exclusivity, personalisation or a bundle. Product adjacencies matter: a plush character may lead to an outfit, a ride photograph to a frame or multi-photo offer, and apparel to matching accessories.
Retail as part of the day
Pleasure Beach tries to plan retail into attractions, events and guest journeys. Themed environments, product demonstrations, characterful displays, confectionery experiences, personalisation, ride photography and interactive selling can make shopping entertaining. Spaces are meant to reflect their location: a thrill-ride shop should feel different from a children's character store, a heritage collection or a confectionery outlet. When environment, products and staff tell the same story, Jackson argues, retail becomes part of the attraction experience.
E-commerce extends the relationship beyond the visit, helping enthusiasts follow launches, previous visitors reconnect with memories and remote customers access selected products. Social media and email support launches and seasonal campaigns, while online behaviour can offer demand insight that differs from in-park behaviour. Staff remain fundamental: they provide energy, product knowledge and personality, demonstrate products, explain stories and recognise when a guest needs help. Retail can also involve entertainment, from candy floss and teddy building to bubbles, photographs and personalisation. Jackson describes teams as hosts, storytellers and brand ambassadors; their feedback can reveal emerging requests before formal reports do. Gift wrapping and personalisation add value for guests who want a purchase to feel personal and significant, and to offer something unavailable from a general online marketplace.
Inspiration comes from museums, heritage destinations, premium fashion brands, department stores and experiential retailers. Museums show how archives can be interpreted for contemporary audiences; fashion and lifestyle brands offer lessons in product drops, collaborations, presentation and scarcity. Jackson is clear that inspiration is not imitation. The model depends on early involvement in attraction development, disciplined range editing, exclusive product stories and reliable retail basics. It also relies on commercial judgement: the account gives no overall sales or footfall figures, and the £250 sellout shows demand in a niche, not mass-market proof. The broader lesson is that retail can extend a visit when it is treated as design and operations discipline, not a logo shop.