A Thorntons Café in an outlet mall? Well, it’s not a High Street (Main Street) address, that’s for sure. But it’s definitely a successful address, the East Midlands Outlet Derbyshire location.
As Peter Bowen affirms, “It’s a good mall.”
The 3,000-sq.-ft. shop sells not only Thorntons’ confections, but also a limited selection of drinks, sandwiches, cakes and ice cream. Foodservice accounts for half of the revenues, with sales continuing to increase as shoppers stop by for a quick bite, coffee or dessert.
Open from 10 a.m. to 6, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (two hours longer on Thursday) as well as on the weekends, Bowen has a crew of 23 to service customers.
“Our best selling items are Thorntons’ Fudge, Continental andClassic confections,” Bowen says. “We have a strong group of regular customers, many of them being older. Of course, we also see many families doing their shopping here at the outlet mall.”
Last year, the store captured first place in the company’s External Sales competition, generating £20,604 in additional revenue selling chocolates to corporate customers in the area.
“It’s been growing for us each year,” Bowen says. “Many smaller businesses find us convenient when it comes to remembering their employees at the holidays. And, we’ll even gift wrap the boxes for them.”
Bowen is also exploring the idea of servicing pop-up stores during the holiday period. After all, it is a British tradition to give a Thorntons box of chocolate during the holidays, one the retail shop manager hopes to make that easier for loyal fans.
Be it High Street or the outlet mall, the legacy lives on.
