High street footfall decrease hit hard
Greeting Card Group, which has 470 stores trading as Cardfair and Card Warehouse, has gone into administration. PricewaterhouseCooper's Michael Jervis and Nick Cropper have been appointed as joint administrators.

Jervis said: 'Greeting Card Group is well established and historically profitable, but has suffered from the generic decrease in high street footfall over recent months. If shoppers aren't treading the pavements, they are not going to buy as many Christmas cards.'

The 470-store group is the second largest specialist card and gift retailer in the UK, employing more than 2,500 staff.

PWC is hopeful of securing a sale of the group as a going concern. The card chain has debts of about£30 million.

The business was restructured last year, however retail conditions have remained challenging.

About one-third of the company's store portfolio is understood to have been loss-making and it is believed administrators will have to close a number of outlets.

The card group, which is based in Peterborough, had a turnover of£70 million for the year ending June 30.