The only way Thorntons could have been kept in its current ownership structure would be if more customers had bought their chocolate at Thorntons. But they didn't. Thorntons didn't maintain a competitive, relevant, and attractive proposition in the market. Perhaps they spent far too much time over the last years arguing and fighting over the family ownership and various Board roles. If they had devoted as much energy towards product and marketing, as they devoted to in-fighting, they might still be healthy. I remember reading this 5 years ago and thinking these guys would eventually argue themselves to death: http://www.campdenfb.com/article/thorntons-tale-chocolates-and-conflicts It's not enough to have some nostalgic desire to keep these old retailers going. Woolworths, Comet, Jessops, Borders, Blockbuster, Focus - there was much wailing at the demise of all these (and so many others) when they collapsed. But the fact was that they simply failed to keep up. Retailing today is razor sharp cut throat. The internet means that customers have instant choice of thousands of competitors, not just the two or three stores on their local high street. Value retailers have repositioned pricing for ever, especially in clothing and grocery. Inefficient or inward looking retailers are effectively dead. No point crying about it.

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
keep Thorntons British	25/06/15 15:28:00	George Turner
Re:keep Thorntons British	25/06/15 23:32:00	Fiona Campbell
Re:Re:keep Thorntons British	26/06/15 06:45:00	Dan Murphy
Re:Re:Re:keep Thorntons British	26/06/15 07:08:00	Fiona Campbell
Re:Re:Re:Re:keep Thorntons British	26/06/15 08:19:00	Dan Murphy

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