Lindt wants to become the world's largest chocolate retailer

Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Spruengli aims to become the world’s largest premium chocolate retailer by 2020. That puts it on a collision course with Belgian Godiva, the current world leader in that branch.

20 to 30 new stores per year

To achieve its goal, Lindt wants to open 20 to 30 new stores every year. Currently, the chocolate manufacturer has more than 300 stores worldwide, but its major competitor Godiva already has more than 450 retail locations. Lindt opened 50 stores last year, including 16 in Brazil, which has helped boost its 2015 retail turnover 20 % faster than Lindt’s overall turnover.

Lindt & Spruengli’s 2015 turnover reached 3.65 billion Swiss francs (3.34 billion euro), a 7.9 % increase compared to the year before. Net profit grew from 342.4 million Swiss francs (313.2 million euro) to 380.4 million Swiss francs, outperforming the 369 million Swiss francs (338 million euro) forecast.

Turnover could have grown even more, but Swiss banks had decided to remove the franc’s maximum value, which resulted in a stunted turnover growth. Excluding exchange rate fluctuations, the company would have had a 14 % turnover increase.