Premium chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat enjoyed record Christmas trading and has now turned its attention to expanding in the US.
The retailer posted a 10.4% jump in sales in the four weeks to December 29, 2024, driven by an increase in both in-store and online shopping and a 33% year-on-year jump in Velvetiser in-store café sales.
Global chief executive Angus Thirlwell said: “This Christmas was our most successful to date and testament to the dedication of our manufacturing-distributing and retailing teams in particular. Despite consumers continuing to feel the pinch, they went for quality this Christmas and we posted strong sales across our accessible price points from the £5.95 Chocolate-filled Table Cracker right up to our £200 Velvetiser Experience Hamper.”
The announcement comes as Hotel Chocolat opens its first stores in Chicago to coincide with the upcoming Easter season.
Hotel Chocolat said its US digital business “continues to grow at pace”, with more than 100,000 US homes now owning a Velvetiser.
“We are excited to be opening right in the heart of Chicago and bringing the Hotel Chocolat experience to the city. These initial stores are being fitted out as we speak. Our US store opening plan will combine with our existing digital channel to tell our brand story and underpin what makes us different,” said Thirlwell.
“It’s fascinating to see what our US Velvetiser-owning families went for compared to the UK families: in the US Mint 70% Dark and Maple Pecan hot chocolates were top performers, whereas for the UK Mince Pie and Salted Caramel & Clementine over-indexed.”
The retailer said it was aiming to open 25 stores in the UK this year, including its largest shop ever – a new 6,000 sq ft-plus store spread over two levels in Manchester.
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