Thorntons cuts jobs after summertime sales blues

Chocolate retailer Thorntons today axed 35 staff after sales melted over the summer.

Sales at stores open for more than a year fell 6% in the 10 weeks to June 26 — down from the 4.6% drop seen in the previous quarter — as hot weather hit trading.

The summer is traditionally Thorntons's weakest time of year, but a stock overhang also forced it to cut prices more sharply than expected.

Same-store sales over the year were down 3.5% as the firm struggled to attract customers. Sales at its Thorntons Direct webiste rose 15.4%.

A review of the business means that 35 staff will lose their jobs in the head office in Derbyshire over the next three months.

The firm issued a profits warning in May when it announced that chief executive Mike Davies would retire in favour of a successor with "specific retail expertise".