The Story
Our story spans back a total of 34 years!
Read the full journey of Janet and John below...
The Founder
Janet and John Kiddies Rides were established by our founder John Turner in 1987. John was born in 1960 and had always worked in the children’s amusement industry as well as being an HGV driver.
Janet and John Kiddies Rides was founded because John had identified that the family entertainment sector could be introduced to the high street and that children’s rides could add to the customer experience.
The Idea
It was always a family affair with John’s father Allen, Wife Janet and other family members always helping throughout the formative years of the company.
The company was created to solely focus on Children’s Rides. The first kiddie ride purchased by Janet and John Kiddie Rides was the Whittaker’s Puff the Magic Dragon.
The Machine Journey
Kiddie Rides were the focus of the company for many years although there was diversity within the Portfolio, Arcade machines, Pool Tables, Novelty Vending machines and Bear Cranes. During this time, we supplied the shops and stores with Kiddie Rides and Vending machines.
Throughout the 1990’s Janet and John Kiddies Rides provided children’s rides throughout the North East and to Shopping Centres, Garden Centres, Play Centres and Leisure Centres. The machine portfolio expanded throughout this decade and the technology changed and The Directors invested heavily when the first Postman Pat ride came out throughout this decade there were great innovations within the industry and there were rides of all sizes from the Ranch Coogan to the Fireman Sam. Rides went from accepting 20p coins to the current multi-coin mechanisms which started at 30p slowly increasing through the years as the cost of the rides increased in value to their current cost of £1 per go.
Vending machines at this time were primitive and the products were low value. At this time Janet and John Kiddies Rides provided their customers with egg vending machines, bear cranes and 20p capsule machines which would vend anything from bubble gum to toy trolls.
The Tomy Network Years
1999 - 2011
This year marked a transformational change for the company as they imported the first Tomy Yujin Slim boy. This machine was far superior to any vending machine that had been imported to the UK market.
Allowing operators to display individual products and from one machine sell four different 50mm capsuled products. Each pod could hold up to 150 capsules giving the Slim boy a 600 capsule capacity and transforming it into the number 1 capsule machine in the market place.
This led to becoming a franchisee within the Tomy vending network. Starting with only a handful of sites within the North West of England Janet and John Kiddies Rides established them as a major operator within the network. Buying out other operators and growing those areas by the time Tomy left the market in 2011 Janet and John had over 300 locations within the network becoming the largest operator of Tomy Gacha Vending machines in the country.
The Millennium
The Tomy vending machine was a change in direction for the company as there became a demand from both clients and customers for this machine and the products it vended. Children as had been shown through the 1990s were becoming
brand-specific and as with the Children’s rides where generic rides began to be overtaken by rides which were designed from the latest children’s tv show and movie characters.
It was not as straight forward as putting in any products and sales would increase. As with the case with children’s vending machines for every Postman Pat there was a Batmobile and it was therefore the company quickly adapted their model to buy the latest trends and have enough product to increase revenue for customers but only enough so that the next big product was not blocking the machines reducing sales for their clients and also staying relevant for customers.
The Next Generation
2007
John’s eldest son John Jnr joined the business in January 2007 after graduating from University. After helping out in the business during the holiday’s John Jnr had developed a passion to learn in the business world and had decided he could do this in the family business. In 2019 John graduated with an MA in Strategic Leadership and Management after becoming the companies, first apprentice.
John Jnr continues to try to implement changes in the company that aid his father’s business objectives improving the vending experience for their customers and clients.
Becoming a Ltd. Company
2013
After more than 25 years of trading 2013 was the year that Janet and John Kiddies Rides became Janet and John Kiddies Rides Ltd. Within the industry the company is still fondly known as Janet and John.
The Penny Press joins the family
2017
The Penny Press comes under the umbrella of Janet and John Kiddies Rides Limited. The Penny Press had been established 20 years and shared the same values and it was a natural home within the Janet and John Kiddies Rides Ltd.
The Directors at Janet and John Kiddies Rides Ltd are committed to improving the product and developing the brand in the years to come.
Investment in the latest technology
2020
Janet and John Kiddies Rides Ltd have continued to strive towards its mission by improving the customer experience. Customers have become accustomed to using contactless payment systems over the last few years and Janet and John Kiddies Rides Ltd has decided it will invest in technology across both its brands to reduce the barriers to customers and improve the customer experience.
New equipment has been invested in throughout the company’s estate with the aim to generate the clients more revenue by improving the customer experience with the latest products. The latest investment is the upgrading of our Penny Press machines and the rollout of contactless payment technology between both our Janet and John and Penny Press brands.