Hotel Chocolat’s sales boosted by UK retail stores
The luxury chocolatier said it’s year on year sales increased by more than a third from June 2021 to 2022 despite losses caused by supply chain disruption.
Reports confirmed a 37% growth in sales, reaching £226m, 71% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This growth was mostly driven by Hotel Chocolat’s 122 retail stores which received a 35% increase in sales as pandemic restrictions have been eased.
CEO Angus Thirlwell said these reports have proved that the UK market for the brand had been underestimated as the level of activity and growth was the fastest in the company’s history.
Hotel Chocolat also reported a ‘disappointing’ loss of £9.4m due to supply chain disruption despite international sales growing by 126%.
The loss provoked the company to pause investments both in controlled operations in the US and further loans to its Japanese joint venture.
Earlier this month Hotel Chocolat announced it had signed a strategic partnership agreement with Tokyo-based Eat Creator Corporation which will include 21 new store openings in the country.
The chocolatier said the agreement supports its global strategic ambitions, applying key business learnings from its first four years of trading in Japan.