Thorntons admits to disappointing Christmas

Thorntons admitted today that trade at its stores in the run-up to Christmas was disappointing, but said that profits had benefited from a move away from discounting. Like-for-like sales at Thorntons fell by 4.4% in the 14 weeks to 9 January. The company also suffered a 18.1% decline in sales through franchises, following the collapse of the Birthdays group last year. "The decline in own-store sales was disappointing, although this was primarily driven by our own decision to protect profit margins through significantly reduced discounting," said chief executive Mike Davies. "We were able to sell all the Christmas stock by the end of the period," he added. The higher gross margins mean that Thorntons still expects to post higher interim profits than a year ago. It also saw a 10.9% jump in online sales via its Thorntons Direct website. Shares in the company rose 1% today to 101p.