Godiva Chocolatier stores are closing, blaming the pandemic’s acceleration of consumers’ shopping habits.
Most of the stores will remain open through Valentine’s Day, which is one of Godiva’s top annual sales periods, the company said Friday. The retailer has 128 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
Godiva said it has successfully increased direct sales to consumers online and has been building up its network of retailers that sell its chocolates, including CVS, Costco, Kroger, Target and Walgreens.
“Godiva is already available in many retailers in North America, and we will continue to increase our presence there while always upholding the premium quality, taste and innovation,” said CEO Nurtac Afridi.
Customers are buying the brand at grocery stores, warehouse clubs and other retailers while demand at its own candy stores “has waned as a result of the pandemic and its acceleration of changes in consumers’ shopping behavior,” the retailer said.
Godiva is not closing stores in Europe, the Middle East and China.
Godiva and other premium chocolate brands have also faced competition from regional chocolatiers that have surfaced and grown in the U.S. in recent years, including Dallas-based Kate Weiser Chocolate.
The well-known brand was founded in 1926 by a family in Brussels who named it for the Saxon legend of Lady Godiva. Since 2007, Godiva has been owned by Yildiz Holding, a large Turkish food manufacturer. In 2019, Yildiz sold some assets, including stores in Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, to MBK Partners, a private equity firm based in Seoul, South Korea.
