Hotel Chocolat opens flagship store at Manchester Arndale
Hotel Chocolat has opened one of its largest stores in the UK at Manchester Arndale shopping centre.
The chocolatier has signed a 10-year lease for a 7,288 sq ft unit on Cross Street, which features a café space and offers the brand’s range of chocolate bars, hot drinks, and gifts.
Beginning in 2003 as a boutique chocolate shop, Hotel Chocolat has since expanded its portfolio to 126 stores across the world, with flagship sites in London, Tokyo and New York. As well as retail outlets, the brand has diversified by opening cafés as well as launching cookbooks, coffee lines, and experiences such as the School of Chocolate Vaults in London’s Covent Garden.
This latest letting adds to Manchester Arndale’s existing food and beverage line up on Cross Street, which also includes Vietnamese Street food provider HOP Vietnamese.
Scott Linard, portfolio manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “At Manchester Arndale we pride ourselves on offering a varied F&B mix as we want to provide customers with a vibrant lineup of refreshing drinks and delicious food. It is also great to see another established brand select Manchester Arndale for one of its flagship stores. This investment by Hotel Chocolat in Manchester Arndale is further evidence of established brands having confidence in the centre as they look to capitalise on our wide catchment area which brings in visitors from across the North West.”
Steve Gray, head of European retail asset management at Global Mutual, added: “Hotel Chocolat is an impressive brand which has taken chocolate in bold directions. We are proud to have cultivated a diverse tenant line-up at Manchester Arndale and are equally excited to add a flagship Hotel Chocolat store to this mix. Establishing relationships with established brands demonstrates that Manchester Arndale continues to be an attractive destination for big retail names and ensures we remain the North West’s premier retail destination.”