Chief executive Colm Sorensen, who was in the UK this week, said: “We’re across very frequently at the moment, although we haven’t signed for a site yet. We would be disappointed if we couldn’t open at least one outlet this year.”
Sorensen said he hoped to open up to 10 stores in southeast England within the next three years and that he was considering a number of different formats.
Butlers Chocolate, which generated sales of£30 million last year, trades from 53 sites in the Republic of Ireland that range from 1,400 sq ft standalone shops to in-store concessions, including one in Dublin department store Arnotts.
A Butlers Chocolate spokeswoman said: “We are not planning any expansion in Ireland this year – our concentration will be on the UK.”
Sorensen denied that a move to the UK would represent a threat for potential competitors such as Hotel Chocolat, partly because of its in-store cafés. “We sell coffee as well, so we’re not really in the same market,” he said.
Sorensen added that the fact that it sells chocolate and coffee “differentiates it entirely” from coffee shops such as Starbucks.
Last year, Butlers opened the first of two international stores in New Zealand that operate as a franchise. It also has a transactional online presence, which has been operational since 1998.
Butlers Chocolate, which opened its first retail store in the Republic of Ireland in 1989, targets affluent confectionery shoppers. It also sells gifts to corporate customers, with a minimum order of£363, which includes free delivery in Ireland.
The company was founded as a chocolate manufacturer by Mrs Bailey Butler in 1932 and was bought by Seamus Sorensen in 1959.
Most of its stores are in the Dublin area, with city centre shops on Grafton Street and Henry Street among others. It also operates shops in Galway and Cork and has a presence in stores across the country.
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