Warner Bros Studio Stores, retailer of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck knick-knacks, has gone into administration, putting 200 jobs at risk.
The 19-store business has an exclusive licence to sell Warner Bros products, but has been making a loss for years. It appears that now it is a case of 'That's all folks'.
John Kinnaird, Warner Bros Studio Stores managing director said the overheads from leases on major flagship stores, which he inherited following his management buy-in in 2001, ended up 'crippling the business'.
Kinnaird and commercial director Paul Drake started to focus on smaller shops, but failed to dispose of large flagship outlets in Manchester and Gateshead, which lost the business£1 million last year.
Kinnaird said: 'If we had got out of those leases, we would have been sitting pretty.'
He added that he and Drake had managed to bring losses down to£1.5 million from£6 million in 2001, and said last year the retailer had sales of£15 million.
Stores at Kingston, Telford, Basingstoke and East Kilbride have already closed, and the remaining 15 outlets will shut over the next two months.
A spokeswoman for administrators BDO Stoy Hayward said no decision has yet been made on whether the chain will be sold as a going concern or broken up.
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