License/Trading Update

Character Group PLC 25 September 2002 Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd, Birmingham Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2002 IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Character Group plc • Licensing agreement with Polaroid extended • Trading Update • Group's Ready Steady Cook Popcorn Maker predicted by The British Association of Toy Retailers to be one of the top 10 best selling toys for Christmas The Character Group plc ('Group' or 'Character') is pleased to announce that World Wide Licenses Limited ('WWL'), the Group's Hong Kong subsidiary which incorporates its digital division, yesterday signed a further license agreement with Polaroid Corporation Inc. ('Polaroid'). In July, WWL signed its first license agreement with Polaroid to manufacture and sell digital cameras in the USA and Canada. The new agreement, which is for an initial term expiring on 31 December 2005, gives WWL, when combined with the original agreement, exclusive rights to manufacture and sell digital cameras under the Polaroid brand for distribution on a worldwide basis, excluding Africa, the Middle East, China, and Central and South America. Commenting on this development, Richard King, Chairman said: 'It has, from the outset of our discussions with Polaroid, been our plan to increase the distribution of Polaroid digital cameras to all the major world markets, and this agreement marks a further significant step towards that goal. 'We believe that the Polaroid brand is one of the most recognised in the camera market. Our expertise in this sector gained through our own-branded cameras marketed under the Cool-iCam name, coupled with the Polaroid partnership will give us significant advantage to exploit our well established position and grow our digital imaging product portfolio in this rapidly growing market. 'Our first Polaroid model will go on sale to the consumer in early October in the USA and we plan to introduce up to 20 new products under the Polaroid license during 2003, all of which will be available for distribution to all our territories.' The new range of cameras is being unveiled today at the International Camera Trade Show - Photokina in Cologne, Germany (25th September). Trading Update In the year ended 31 August 2002, the Group continued to focus on the development of its product portfolio and although market conditions proved to be challenging, with the poor summer weather hampering the sale of its summer products, the Group has made good progress throughout the year. Trading results for the financial year ended 31st August 2002 are expected to be in line with market expectations. Although it is still too early at this stage to give any financial indication regarding Christmas trading, the Group is pleased to report that its new product introductions have been generally well received by the market with many products selling at or above forecast levels. The Group's most notable success is the Ready Steady Cook wide range of children's practical working cooking products which includes a popcorn maker, oven and ice cream maker. continued... -2- Today, The British Association of Toy Retailers ('BATR') released its prediction for the Top 10 best selling toys for the forthcoming Christmas sales period and the Group is delighted that the Popcorn Maker within its Ready Steady Cook range has been listed in BATR's Dream Toys 2002 Top 10. Commenting on the success of the Ready Steady Cook range, Richard King, Chairman, The Character Group said: 'We are delighted that this range has been so successful at the retail level since its launch. We are currently all but sold out for the year, and will now be supplying our customers on an allocation basis.' 'We are planning to introduce a number of new innovative and exciting additions to the current range starting with a smoothie maker which will be launched at retail just prior to Christmas. We believe that this range is quickly developing into a core brand for the Group.' In addition, the Board is pleased with the level of support that is being achieved for the Group's Spring 2003 introductions. The Board is very encouraged by the start to this new financial year and believes that the Group should maintain this positive progress throughout the year. Enquiries: Richard King (Chairman) Fiona Tooley Mobile: 07836 250150 Kiran Shah (Group Finance Director) Keith Gabriel The Character Group plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 8949 5898 Tel: 0121 455 8370 Mobile: 07956 278522 Mobile: 07785 703523 For Camera information: www.polaroid-digital.com www.cool-icam.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100