Godiva Sees Sales Exceeding $1 Billion as Snackmaker IPO Looms
- Belgian chocolate maker expects to beat 2017 revenue target
- Yildiz Holding subsidiary intends to float shares around 2020
A sample of liquid cocoa product, heated to 65 degrees celsius, sits in a test tray after collection from a storage tank at the new Transmar Group plant which makes cocoa products for Russian chocolate makers in Ozery, Russia, on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. Transmar Group, one of the world's largest independent cocoa processors, is targeting the $7.3 billion Russian chocolate market by opening a new factory.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergGodiva, the world’s largest premium chocolate retailer, will probably exceed its target for 2017 revenue of $1 billion on the growing appetite for Belgian sweets in Asia, according to the head of its parent company.
Godiva is seeking to open about 190 stores in mainland China by the end of 2019 as new products helped boost sales to a record $792 million last year, Cem Karakas, chief executive officer of Godiva-parent Pladis, said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in London. Pladis, which has annual sales of $5.2 billion, intends to list its shares in London around 2020, Karakas also said.