Hotel Chocolat Group PLC Trading Update (0948M)
19 January 2021 - 6:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMHOTC
RNS Number : 0948M
Hotel Chocolat Group PLC
19 January 2021
19 January 2021
HOTEL CHOCOLAT GROUP PLC
( " Hotel Chocolat ", the " Company" or the " Group ")
Trading Update
Hotel Chocolat Group plc, a premium British chocolatier and
omni-channel retailer, today announces the following trading update
for the 13-week and 26-week periods ended 27 December 2020.
Total Group revenue for the 13-week period increased 19 per cent
compared to the prior year.
Total Group revenue for the 26-week period increased 11 per cent
compared to the prior year.
In the UK, the Hotel Chocolat brand flexed its multichannel
model to respond to the strong demand from its loyal, direct
customer base. Online growth more than offset the impact of the
temporary closures of physical retail due to COVID
restrictions.
In the USA, the Hotel Chocolat brand was able to adapt rapidly
and pivot the multichannel business model to deliver year-on-year
growth of 19 per cent in the 13-week period, and 8 per cent in the
26-week period.
In Japan, having opened a further 12 outlets during the half
year, the joint venture is now operating from 18 locations, with a
substantially increased e-commerce database (sales to the Japanese
joint venture are currently reported by the Group as wholesale
revenues).
Trading since December continues to be 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 results for the six
months ended 27 December 2020 on 2 March 2021.
Angus Thirlwell, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
said:
"The strength of the brand and our ability to flex our
multichannel model meant that despite the challenging environment
every business and every family has faced, we were able to keep on
delivering chocolat happiness, launch new products and deliver
strong sales growth.
"The growth momentum stepped up in Japan and the USA, and we
have seen that it's underpinned by what the Hotel Chocolat brand
brings that is differentiated and exciting to these mega markets.
Encouragingly, we have also made significant progress in the period
in building an operational platform for future growth.
"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.
"We are hugely grateful to both our new and long-term direct
customers who have made all this possible and to the worldwide
Hotel Chocolat family for the exceptional team effort that drove
these results whilst always upholding the Hotel Chocolat brand
values."
Enquiries:
Hotel Chocolat Group PLC Tel: +44 (0) 1763 257 746
Angus Thirlwell, Co-Founder and
CEO
Peter Harris, Co-Founder and Development
Director
Matt Pritchard, CFO
Liberum (Nominated Adviser and Sole Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000
Broker)
Clayton Bush
James Greenwood
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7638 9571
Angharad Couch
Ellen Wilton
Kieran Farthing
Notes to Editors:
Hotel Chocolat is a premium British chocolatier with a strong
and distinctive brand. The business was founded in 1993 by Angus
Thirlwell and Peter Harris and has traded under the Hotel Chocolat
brand since 2003. The Group sells its products online and through a
network of locations in the UK, Japan and USA. The Group has an
organic cacao farm and hotel in Saint Lucia, offering a complete
brand immersion thorough tree-to-bar experiences and wellness
treatments. The Group also has a flagship restaurant and cocoa
roastery in London ' s Borough Market: Rabot restaurant. The Group
was admitted to trading on AIM in 2016.
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