Crunch hits Character
The Character group has issued a profit warning ahead of the Christmas sales period, blaming low consumer confidence.
The credit crunch, which has become a full-blown recession, has impacted on the group which said retailers had cut back orders ahead of the key Christmas trading period due to a plunge in consumer confidence after the global financial crisis.
"They're very, very reluctant to take in inventory," Finance Director Kiran Shah said, adding Character had seen a "double digit" percentage drop in sales volumes in recent weeks.
Character said profit before tax for the year ended August 31st, 2008, was likely to be £5m ($7.5 million), in line with analysts' expectations.
The firm has forecasted that group turnover in calendar year 2009 will surge from £100m to £145m, based on confidence in a number of new lines.
