Sad day for chocolate lovers as Thorntons empties its shelves
SHELVES are being cleared inside a Nottinghamshire branch of high street giant Thorntons just weeks after the chocolatier closed 61 stores.
The branch, inside Mansfield’s Four Seasons Shopping Centre, was being emptied yesterday with shelves cleared of stock.
It comes two weeks after the company revealed it is closing its stores nationwide, putting more than 600 jobs at risk.
The company said it had been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced its stores to close in the lead up to its most busy periods of Easter and Christmas.
Thorntons is not the only high street giant leaving the Mansfield shopping centre, with Topman, Topshop, Burton and Debenhams all permanently closing their stores last month.
However, all companies will still have stock available online - with Thorntons available on its own website and the clothing retailers split across Asos and Boohoo.
Commenting on the closures earlier this month, Adam Goddard, Thorntons retail director, said: “The obstacles we have faced and will continue to face on the High Street are too severe.
“Despite our best efforts, we have taken the difficult decision to permanently close our retail store estate.”
Nikki Rolls is chief executive of the Mansfield Business Improvement District (BID).
Commenting on closures in the town last month, she said: “Losing bricks and mortar stores will be a major loss to the town as a whole, which means it is now more important than ever to ensure Mansfield is future proof.
“We can do this through a combination of public and private investment and it is essential to build confidence and to encourage and support new ventures in Mansfield town centre.
“I believe that Mansfield has a lot to offer, and now more than ever this needs to be voiced and promoted.
“A master plan is being developed and we certainly need it to ensure a cohesive approach in a vision of what we will become. Our unique independent offer will always be the best of the best.
“We know that the public has been very supportive of local businesses, and I’d say that it is now more important than ever to shop local and support your town centre. It’s up to our community to support our town.”
Thorntons, which was founded in Sheffield 110 years ago, said it plans to sell more items in supermarkets in the future.
It will also try to expand its range of products made at its main factory in Alfreton, Derbyshire, and increase sales internationally.
The closures also mean the company’s store in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre will close, alongside the city’s Debenhams, Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge outlets.