Chocolatier Thorntons sees full-year hit on pre-Christmas sales slump

Reuters

Published Dec 23, 2014 08:15

Chocolatier Thorntons sees full-year hit on pre-Christmas sales slump

(Reuters) - British chocolatier Thorntons Plc said it expects lower earnings than last year due to a decline in second-quarter sales and warehousing problems at its UK commercial business in the run-up to Christmas.

Thorntons said on Tuesday that it had seen a "significant reduction" in expected orders from the major grocers, who also took in stock later than anticipated.

British grocers have been suffering in a market hit by price deflation, stagnant wage growth and increased competition.

Cash-strapped consumers have been shopping around to save money, shying away from big weekly shops and buying little and often in local convenience stores or online.

"Short-term difficulties" at Thorntons' new, centralised warehouse compounded its woes, with lost and late sales at its UK commercial unit leading to missed promotional slots and reorders.