Easter trading was "satisfactory" according to the chocolate maker Thorntons which expects that its profit before tax will be increased five fold from 2011 and exceed the current market expectation of £3.1m.
In early 2012, Thorntons announced that profits at the company had fallen from £8.4m to £618,000 – a drop of 92%. This lead to the proposal to close 120 shops of which 36 have actually shut their doors.
As a result the company has followed through with its plans to focus more on wholesale rather than retail and increasing sales through outlets such as supermarkets rather than its own stores. This has been backed by a greater online presence after launching a new website in Spring 2012.
The improvement is encouraging for the sweets maker but the company said it remained “cautious of the prevailing economy and its continuing impact on consumer expenditure”.
