Hotel Chocolat to make fewer Easter eggs amid squeeze

HOTEL Chocolat is to make fewer Easter eggs this year as it opts for caution amid a squeeze on shoppers’ budgets.

The retailer said it had decided not to produce as much stock for Easter as part of its plans to “play cautious”.

Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive, said: “It’s really that we have become accustomed to multiple crises, hitting us from all angles, we just don’t know what’s around the corner so part of that cautious approach is that we’re not making bets on as much stock. To a degree, that means you’re limited in the sales potential you have, but you’re also backing out the risk.”

Mr Thirlwell said the expectation was that it would sell out of products including Easter eggs and themed chocolates in the run-up to the holiday, rather than having excess stock that it would typically discount after Easter.

He added: “We’re being restrained in how much we make and we’re expecting to sell out across the board.”

It comes as shoppers are under mounting cost of living pressures, with grocery prices continuing to rise despite headline inflation falling.

Hotel Chocolat raised its prices in 2021 to cope with higher commodity costs, but Mr Thirlwell said there were no plans to increase them further.

He said, despite the pressures on shoppers, Hotel Chocolat had not seen customers trading down to cheaper chocolates. Its chocolates sell for anything from £3 and £300. In the nine weeks to Christmas, sales in its stores in Britain and Ireland were up 10pc on a like-for-like basis, with more stock being sold at full-price than in previous years.

Hotel Chocolat is planning a major high street push by opening about 50 stores in the next three to five years.

Comparing stores to online shopping, Mr Thirlwell said: “There’s all the anticipation of buying it, you get a lovely bag. All that comes free. It’s the same online, but it just suddenly arrives. When household budgets are under pressure, we think that customers want to have the best experience they can when they decide to spend money.”