Thornton's Chocolate Shops Closing

[DianaT1969]

Not surprised.
Sorry for anyone losing their job.
Will anyone on here miss them?

Surely Hotel Chocolate is the new Thornton's

People seem to think lockdown is a pause button, it isn’t, there won’t be much left after a year of no business

@HermioneWeasley

People seem to think lockdown is a pause button, it isn’t, there won’t be much left after a year of no business

Fully agree with that. We'll have lost so many businesses for good. The High Street retail will never recover. What's worse is that Rishi has spunked tens/hundreds of billions in grants and furlough payments to retailers which is effectively wasted on those that won't ever re-open.

A lot of the shops never needed to be closed for so long anyway, especially smaller shops with small numbers of customers. The shop owners/staff could have just ensure social distancing (like small food shops and takeaways manage to do). If they'd been allowed to stay open, there wouldn't have been the need for taxpayer paying furlough etc.

The Govt and Rishi in particular have really fouled up with the High Street and non food shops.

They probably don't really need there own shop when people can buy it with their online supermarket delivery. Tesco etc.

I just don't think their shops were special enough - look at Hotel Chocolat and the Lindt Boutiques. Plus both have better products.

I'll be sad, the factory is local to me so I assume the staff there will be lose their jobs, I know lots of people that work there.

The factory won't need to close if they are supplying to supermarkets will it? I thought it was just the shops closing

They didn't close shops because they necessarily thought people would spread covid in shops, they closed shops to stop people going out.

For years getting Easter or Christmas chocolate with a name of message piped on was a bit thing for my family members. But with the quality of the Easter eggs at places like Lidl and Aldi you'd be better off buying there than stick with their brand just for the name piping. Can't say I'm surprised.

I’m gutted. Thorntons Champagne Truffles are my absolute fav choc in the world. Might have to see if I can get them online

I feel sorry for the staff. Only ever shopped there at Christmas for advent calendars with names iced on.

Yes, yes, yes to Viennese truffles - properly nostalgic late '90s vibes eating Vts with my best friendd and listening to our Tracey chapman CD & thinking we were the bees knees!

I also loved the (dark) choc fondant mice and a fudge, raisiny chocolate bar thing from about 1 million years ago. I had a box of Continental on the weekend and they have definitely been changed ( for the worse). These used to be a delicious treat in the 80s and 90s. Pity.

Trouble was they had masses of scrummy stuff at Xmas that they never sold throughout the rest of the year.

I didn't realise they still had their own shops tbh, thought they were only sold in supermarkets anyway.

But as a kid in the 80s a visit to the shop was such a treat. My grandma and my mum used to chose a selection of Continental - they were all laid out in glass cabinets and you picked the ones you wanted (which still seems like the most sensible way to buy chocolates, so you only get the ones you like). My grandad would get some toffee and some fudge, and I would get a chocolate fondant mouse. Then we'd eat them in front of the telly watching Blankety Blank or Hi-de-Hi or whatever nonsense was on.

Oh, and when I got married the colour of my bridesmaids dresses reminded me so much of their Viennese truffles!

The dark chocolate apricot delices were my favourite, until they stopped selling them.

I have lots of happy memories of their shops, we had one on my local high street and it was one of the first places I bought my own Christmas presents for family. We often used to have an ice cream from there in summer too. My first boyfriend bought me a box of dark chocolate continentals for my birthday when we were first dating as well.

It is a shame, and I feel sorry for the staff. They have been in trouble for a while though. They did something unsuccessful years ago when they tried to re-brand some of their stores as Cocoa Electric (?), which I think were supposed to be the 'trendy' ones.

Actually, Cocoa Electric might have been a brand from an Apprentice challenge! But they definitely did try a re-brand at one point.

I absolutely love their toffee. Never really cared for their chocolate. Sad to see another shop go though.

I’m not surprised either. We used to buy a lot of personalised presents there when I was a kid but I think our one stopped doing that or something so we stopped going. Haven’t been to one in years.

Another one who remembers going as a bit of a treat as a child , a day in town shopping and picking a few chocolates / ice cream from there or the chocolate plaques with your name piped on for a birthday etc .

Kind of ruined it when you could just buy there chocolates in bargain shops or Poundland tbh

Been closed here for a while now

@PurpleDaisies

I will. Their special toffee is a sentimental favourite of mine, especially with a toffee hammer.

I worked at the factory 25 years ago. As factory jobs go it was good! But you know true boredom when you’ve chopped large trays of toffee with a small hammer for 8 hours a day...

Sorry to see it go and the 600 jobs, possibly more in surrounding areas as less and less reasons to go to the high street. I’m not too surprised- I missed the pick and mix chocolates. Agree went downhill when went into supermarkets.

Loved their toffee and it was a present we could take abroad.

@dalmatianmad

I'll be sad, the factory is local to me so I assume the staff there will be lose their jobs, I know lots of people that work there.

Me too! The factory will continue as their online sales are fine, plus I think they still produce for other companies too. Don’t you just love that there’s Thornton’s one side of the road and Slimming World HO on the other?! 🤣🤣

When I first discovered Thornton's , back in the day 1980's, you could only buy from their small, slightly old fashioned shops. You had to make a special trip to get there and you would spend ages choosing from the individual chocolates in a display cabinet. Then I could buy them mail order. Then they started opening shops left right and centre, began to sell selections in supermarkets and of course, their internet sales increased massively. Unfortunately, by going the route they chose, they were no longer regarded as a premium or special occasion chocolate and became an everyday purchase. The flavours changed, or disappeared and I, along with many others, found other companies offerings more enticing. They have no USP - Hotel Chocolat is still only available from HC, afaik, so they are seen as more premium. Lindt have their shops where you can buy products and flavours not available from other retailers. Their online site allows me to choose the exact flavour combinations of lindor balls, for example. With Thorntons it is very much 'here's what we have - like it or lump it'. So, no, I'm not surprised they are going but I do feel for their staff.