Hotel Chocolat enjoys late festive surge in sales
Hotel Chocolat has enjoyed strong Christmas trading with retail UK and Ireland like-for-like store sales increasing by 10% year-on-year.
The nine week period ending 25 December saw the retailer set a new record for Christmas campaign sales across its UK store estate. It also achieved its strongest ever sell-through of full-price seasonal products.
However, group sales declined by 5% in the period when international sales were included. In addition, online revenues were lower year-on-year after Hotel Chocolat deliberately spent less on marketing.
The retailer said it is continuing to trade in line with market expectations, although it remains cautious about consumer sentiment over the upcoming events of Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Eid and Father’s Day.
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive, said: “A late festive surge delivered sparkling store performances. When times are tough, shoppers prioritise quality products that are really worth it. Hotel Chocolat will continue to live up to these expectations: investing in more cacao and less sugar, funding nature-positive cacao farming, and championing British-made quality.
“We have grown Hotel Chocolat by 65% over the period since the start of the pandemic, adapting to some of the most difficult economic conditions on record. Taking a year, over FY23, to sharpen-up our operating model is the right thing to do, before we embark on further pursuit of the multiple growth opportunities ahead for our brand.”
