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Character fears a festive crunch
Nick Goodway24.11.08
The maker of some of this Christmas's must-have toys and games including Dr Who Sonic Screwdrivers and Hannah Montana Musical Hairbrushes today warned that its sales and profit margins have plummeted in the past two months.
Character Group, which includes High School Musical, Scooby Doo and Robosapiens among its top-selling brands, said retailers had slashed back orders in the run-up to the key Christmas trading period as consumer confidence plunged.
The group supplies the country's top four toy retailers Argos, Tesco, Woolworths and Toys 'R' Us. Finance director Kiran Shah said it had seen a double-digit fall in sales in recent weeks and added: "It's across the board. They're very, very reluctant to take inventory."
Character said its new financial year started in September just as "world economies went into unprecedented freefall".
Profits for the year to the end of August will be in line with market expectations at some £5 million.
