It was not a gathering that Jonathan Hart, newly hired chief executive for Thorntons, recalls looking forward to. He had just joined the company in January 2011. In the meeting hall, anxiously awaiting to hear what the new head of UK’s largest independent confectionery company had to say, were more than 350 managers of Thorntons’ retail shops.
Alfreton, UK-based Thorntons, in existence since 1911 and a British icon on nearly every “High Street” (Main Street to Americans) with a retail shop serving up chocolates, toffees, fudge and other confections, had built its business on the backs of these shop managers.