Pleasure Beach Blackpool, the 130-year-old seaside amusement park known for its wooden roller coasters, the Big One and live shows, is also using retail to extend the visitor experience. Damian Jackson, head of retail, oversees physical stores, e-commerce, ride photography and merchandise development. The flagship shop sits at the park’s main entrance in the Casino building, supported by outlets across the site.
Jackson describes the role as a mix of creative, commercial and operational work. He works closely with Amanda Thompson from the initial idea through the design brief, product development, sampling and final approval. The guiding principle, he says, is that every range must have a reason to exist, a clear customer and an authentic connection to the resort. “We do not simply put a logo on a product,” he said.
Designing for a mixed audience
Pleasure Beach serves families on first visits, school groups with limited spending money, teenagers, couples, international tourists, lifelong fans and serious coaster enthusiasts, often on the same day. Their reasons for buying differ. A family may want a traditional souvenir; an enthusiast may seek an accurate collectable tied to a particular ride.
The retail team combines sales data with time in shops, conversations with staff and guest feedback. Jackson says sales reports show what is selling, but understanding why requires observation. The team asks whether a product would be worn away from the resort, displayed with pride by an enthusiast, excite a child or genuinely remind a family of its visit.
A portfolio built around price and purpose
The range is organised around customer missions, price points and levels of engagement. It includes impulse purchases such as confectionery, magnets, keyrings and badges; practical items such as bottles, bags and ponchos; fashion-led apparel and accessories; children’s products and plush; and premium or limited-edition pieces for collectors. Attraction-specific merchandise sits alongside broader Pleasure Beach branding, licensed ranges, playful products and heritage collections.
Jackson argues that offering something for everyone does not mean unlimited choice. It means a carefully edited range in which each product has a purpose, a target customer and an appropriate price.
Aviktas shows the value of early involvement
The Aviktas range was developed alongside the identity of the new attraction rather than added afterwards. Instead of applying the ride logo to a set of products, the team built the range around the attraction’s visual world: its golden snake, emerald colouring, mythology and sense of mystery. Jackson cites a run of 50 models priced at £250 each that sold out as evidence of demand for premium, limited-edition collectables when a product has authenticity, detail and a strong connection to the attraction.
The development process varies by attraction. ICON lends itself to a clean, contemporary, fashion-led approach, while heritage rides such as the Big Dipper and Grand National draw on archive artwork, engineering details and nostalgia. Materials, colours, proportions, trims, embroidery, packaging and in-shop presentation all matter. So do intended customer, expected demand, price points, production quantities, lead times and sales locations.
Heritage, play and licensed brands
Nostalgia carries weight at a resort that has been part of family traditions for 130 years. Pleasure Beach draws on an archive of attraction imagery, typography, posters, architecture and stories, reinterpreting it through contemporary apparel, homeware and collectables. Mr Funshine merchandise is one example of nostalgia given a contemporary twist. Playful assets, including humour, colour and character, broaden the offer for children, families and casual visitors.
Licensed ranges, including Nickelodeon and Aardman’s Wallace and Gromit, require partnership between the park, IP owners and approved suppliers. Jackson says the strongest relationships are collaborative: the licensor protects brand integrity while the park explains what visitors respond to. To compete with general online retailers, Pleasure Beach seeks relevance and exclusivity through designs tied to the park, location-specific details, personalisation and products that celebrate the visit.
Operations and the extended visit
Guests increasingly ask for exclusive, authentic and considered products, including attraction-specific merchandise, premium apparel, subtle branding, limited editions and items with a clear story. Enthusiasts want accurate details, models and technical artwork. Generic souvenirs and heavily branded products without an added story have become less compelling, although keyrings, magnets, mugs and confectionery remain important.
Jackson identifies stock accuracy and availability as among the least glamorous but most critical parts of retail. Deliveries, replenishment, pricing, signage and daily compliance checks protect the guest experience. Suppliers are treated as creative and commercial partners, with reliability in quality, communication, lead times and consistency.
E-commerce extends the relationship year-round, letting enthusiasts follow launches and remote customers buy selected products. Gift wrapping and personalisation add value, while retail staff act as hosts, storytellers and brand ambassadors. Pleasure Beach looks to museums, heritage destinations, premium fashion brands and experiential retailers for inspiration, but Jackson says the aim is to create products guests associate only with Pleasure Beach.