Hotel Chocolat hails ‘strong’ Christmas
Chocolatier Hotel Chocolat saw its group revenue increase by 15% year-on-year over its busy Christmas trading period.
The retailer said its retail, online and wholesale channels all experienced growth in the 13-week period to 30 December.
After opening 15 new stores in the second half of 2018, Hotel Chocolat now operates 117 stores in the UK.
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive of Hotel Chocolat, said: “This was another strong Christmas for Hotel Chocolat. Our new store openings contributed 5% of the growth in the period, with the balance coming from existing stores, digital and wholesale channels. Our wholesale partnerships were notable successes with strong growth, balancing lower margins with lighter capital investment.”
Hotel Chocolat has also given an update on more recent trading which continues to be in line with management’s expectations.
In addition, the retailer said it has seen an “encouraging” response from local customers to its new store in New York and joint venture store in Tokyo.
