Hotel Chocolat on track after full year sales rise
Hotel Chocolat saw its revenue increase by 3% to £136 million in the year to 28 June after the company successfully migrated a significant proportion of its Easter and Mother’s Day sales to online during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Digital sales accelerated to over 200% year-on year in the retailer’s fourth quarter as it also benefited from a 47% uplift in sales of subscriptions and recurring purchases such as hot chocolate refills for its Velvetiser in-home system.
Angus Thirlwell, chief executive of Hotel Chocolat, said: “I’ve been hugely impressed by how our team have responded, culturally, professionally and ethically during the pandemic . The acceleration of change in the retail landscape has galvanised us to speed up our plans and investments in the opportunities we were already pursuing.
“Our physical retail usually accounts for over 70% of sales in the second half , but all locations were closed for the entire Easter period this year and beyond. It is a testament to our lovely customers’ loyalty that they switched in droves to online.”
The company now anticipates that its underlying pre-tax profit will be in line with expectations and said it is creating 200 new jobs this year.
Thirlwell added: “We remain positive about the unparalleled leisure experience a physical Hotel Chocolat can deliver within our multichannel direct-to–consumer model.
“We pledged at the beginning to keep the Hotel Chocolat family together through this, and that is what we have done. We are confident about the prospects for our business.”
