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I like this company and I hold over 15000 shares. I was in the Trafford Centre store at the back end of last week amd I was a little surprised with what I saw. It was well into 30 degrees plus outside. Loads of parents with children in the vicinity, yet absolutely nothing to say they sell ice cream?? I bought a tub (very nice by the way!) and walked back to the car with it. A young woman stopped me to ask where I got it from. I told her and she said she was going straight there to get one!
I do genuinely think Hotel Chocolat has a good future, but they need to start capturing the market at EVERY opportunity now and really create brand awareness at a household level if they are to fill the gap left by the likes of Thornton’s etc.
I agree entirely GF, I visited both the Bristol and Bath stores at the w\e as part of a research trip into several companies and I was surprised by the lack of desire to sell in both stores, listening in, staff seemed a little disinterested, I spied the ice cream in both stores and noted the lack of attention to it.
I was a little gutted truth be told as I can see what this could be. In conclusion I think they need to cull the number of stores here as it will impacting massively profits on a reduced revenue, staff need retraining and stores need an up to date makeover of sorts.
In retail especially this is down to Brexit.
Now that we have such a tight labour market, and we've also stopped young European workers, from countries where working in retail and hospitality is seen as a 'real' career, not looked down on as it is here as just a part-time job for kids, you end up with poor staff. You have to have someone in the shop so if the option is a disinterested, lazy person or having to close the store/restaurant for certain shifts you'll have to go with the least bad option.
The only plus is this is a sector wide issue not ours specifically and I do believe we hold a good niche area in the market that stands us apart from Starbucks, Costa, Nero, etc. Hopefully one day one of the main parties will be able to if not admit the mistake of Brexit, at least admit we need European labour for our stores/restaurants to offer better service and and improved productivity which will lead to a stronger economy.
I'm not an ideologist, I don't care who's in power as they are just 2 wings of the same bird, but I do care if our country, and my companies are being hamstrung by their ideologies.
Again good point re reduced pool of staff to choose from, standing there it all felt a little gloomy and tired, a bit like standing in one of the old Thornton’s shops actually. They really need to inject a bit of life and attraction into the stores. Cannot fault the product itself, fantastic taste in a world of bland high sugar chocolate out there, but they need to match that quality in every aspect of their retail else i can see this eventually draining out.
Down to brexit what a load of crap the British young do not know how to communicate
and now due to Brexit we can't get European staff who want to work in these roles.
the second part of your sentence seems to contradict the first.