Greggs cooks up new recipe to revive sales
GREGGS’ new chief executive unveiled plans yesterday to pull the chain away from its roots in the dwindling bread business and focus on food-on-the-go after posting a slump in profits.
Roger Whiteside said 70 per cent of customers visited Greggs for “food-on-the-go”, but it was losing share in the £6bn market due to growing competition from sandwich chains and exposure to declining categories like bread.
“To win we have to be a fully focused food-on-the-go retailer,” he said.
The group will now spend the next three years revamping stores into a “bakery food on the go” format emphasising new ranges of lunchtime food and afternoon snacks like pizza and cake.
Greggs will also slow the number of openings to 30-40 stores compared to 100 last year, relocating to busier areas like workplaces and travel hubs.
Pre-tax profits fell 28 per cent to £11.4m in the six months to 29 June, dragged down by a 2.9 per cent decline in underlying store sales.
It also warned full-year profits would be around £3m lower than expected after July’s heatwave hit sales.