Thorntons loses out in competition battle
12 January 2012 10:30
Chocolatier Thorntons battled tough competition in the run-up to Christmas as customers hunted for the best deals, resulting in slightly lower than expected like-for-like results. The group, which has 574 wholly-owned and franchise stores in the UK, said like-for-like sales fell by 4.2% in the 14 weeks to January 7th.
Thorntons, which in June announced plans to close up to 180 stores over three years, said consumers were "purchasing selectively" in the period as high levels of promotional activity across the market hit its sales and profit margins.
The Derbyshire-based group has been hit by the consumer spending squeeze and has struggled to keep up with competition posed by supermarkets, prompting it to issue a profit warning last month.
The company, which employs 3,000 staff and owns 7.7% of the UK chocolate market, said it expected "continued weakness" in consumer sentiment throughout 2012.In other news, the company announced that Michael Killick will join the company as finance cirector when Mark Robson leaves the Company on February 17th. Mr Killick has previously held senior finance roles with Peacocks, Going Places Leisure Travel and Dorothy Perkins.
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