Global Retail

The Global Retail Division looks back on yet another successful year with strong double-digit organic growth of 12,7% and sales of CHF 434 million.

With around 370 locations worldwide, our chocolate shops and cafés are excellent flagships for the Lindt, Ghirardelli and Russell Stover brands. They provide an opportunity to establish strong personal links with consumers, by providing the ultimate first-hand chocolate experience. The shops now attract more than 50 million visitors every year.

Against the backdrop of our ambitious expansion strategy, more than 60 new shops were opened in 2016, mainly in Europe, Canada, Brazil, Japan and South Africa. The focus continues to be on finding locations with a high footfall in prime inner-city sites and shopping malls. These need to be compatible with our premium image and our brand values, while at the same time generating profitable growth.

Some of the most prominent new openings of Lindt chocolate boutiques over the last financial year included Düsseldorf in Germany, and busy shopping malls in Toronto and Montreal (Canada), as well as in Liverpool and Manchester (UK). In addition, the first Lindt chocolate shop opened its doors in Russia.

Special emphasis is placed on the training of more than 2,000 staff in the Global Retail Division to become service-oriented “Chocolate Advisors”. Their job is to provide consumers with a unique and unmissable chocolate experience in each of our shops. In addition to the highly popular key products such as Lindor and Excellence, our shops also offer a large choice of selected gift options, along with a broad variety of Lindor taste combinations in our extensive Pick & Mix range.

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