Woolies stock floods toy market
Toy specialist Character Group expects that there will be many children disappointed with Santa on Christmas morning, given the fact that some of the most anticipated toys of the season will be out of stock. In particular the group predicts that the Peppa Pig products and Go Go Pets will come up short this year.
At the same time, its results for the full year have still suffered a bit after Woolworths collapsed last year with stock meant for Woolworths from 2008 swamping the marketplace and diverting profits.
Thus, the company was forced to record that they suffered a pre-tax loss of £2m for the year out of which £1m was left over from Woolies, which was drastic compared to its report of a £5m profit the previous year. However, due to some good Christmas trading this year the company has a lot of hope towards the future.
Richard Hickinbotham a prominent analyst said that Character Group will start out in the market place in 2010 in a much better position than last year and with a new focus on their products they should be able to continue the profitability turn around that they exhibited in the second half of 2009.
Next year the group already plans to put together new ranges for the Doctor Who line along with a new Fireman Sam line and more Go Go Pets.
Tags: Character Group, Go Go Pets, Peppa Pig, Woolworths