Hotel Chocolat celebrates sweet six months despite Covid-19

Hotel Chocolat has defied pandemic challenges and boosted its revenue in the 26-week period ending 27 December.

Total group revenue for the period increased 11 per cent year-on-year, as the group pivoted to online sales to offset the impact of pandemic restrictions.

The end of the year was particularly tasty for the chocolate retailer, with revenue up 19 per cent in the final 13 weeks of the year, compared to 2019.

The picture was similar in the USA, with year-on-year growth of 19 per cent in the 13-week period until 27 December, and eight per cent for the 26-week period.

In Japan, having opened a further 12 outlets during the half year, the business is still operating from 18 locations, with a substantially increased e-commerce database.  

Hotel Chocolat co-founder and chief executive officer Angus Thirlwell said the brand was able to launch new products and deliver strong sales despite the challenging environment.

“We accelerated several of our digital growth initiatives over the last year and can clearly see the huge potential ahead. Whilst there is still further near-term pandemic-related uncertainty, and ongoing increased costs in reacting to it, I am increasingly confident that in the medium-term we can deliver significant further growth in the UK, USA and Japan,” he added.

Trading since December has been in line with management’s expectations, despite materially higher investments in the acceleration of our digital and international growth plan, and ongoing pandemic-related response costs.

The board expects to announce the group’s full results for the six months ended 27 December 2020 on 2 March 2021.