Thorntons reviews £1m advertising account

Thorntons, the high street chocolate retailer, is reviewing its £1m advertising account, which is currently with Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy. The pitch follows the arrival of new marketing director Peter Wright.

thorntonsThorntons, the high street chocolate retailer, is reviewing its £1m advertising account, which is currently with Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy. The pitch follows the arrival of new marketing director Peter Wright.

It is thought that the review, which is being handled by Agency Insight, is in its early stages Miles Calcraft has been invited to repitch but has declined.

The retailer has seen a sharp decline in sales over the last three years due to the growth of premium chocolate products from confectionery brands and supermarkets but it has shown early signs of positive growth this year. In the 11 weeks to June 30, it reported sales growth of 26.2% with like-for-like sales up by 7.2%.

Wright, a former Tesco marketer, replaced Phil Douty, who left the company in April this year. The company has seen a number of changes over recent months with Mike Davies, a senior executive from Mars, taking over from Peter Burdon, who resigned from the role.

The retailer has been working with Miles Calcraft for seven years and the agency had recently created a new positioning with the strapline “The art of the chocolatier”. Media is handled by Starcom.