Price rises at Greggs are ‘inescapable’ – but high street favourite is working hard to protect customers as much as it can from inflation, the firm’s boss says.
The Newcastle headquartered business, which now has more than 2,224 shops across the UK, has hailed a strong start to the year, with like-for-like sales rising 27.4% in the first 19 weeks of the year. Total sales in the 19 weeks to May 14 were £495m, up from £378m, and sales of hot food like chicken goujons and potato wedges are proving popular, which bodes well for its plan to have more shops opening later, and more shops also selling hot food.
CEO Roger Whiteside, who steps down from the board at Tuesday’s AGM, said Greggs also has a strong pipeline of openings, having opened 49 new shops since the start of the year, resulting in a portfolio of 2,224 shops in all. Looking ahead, however, he warned of rising cost pressures – but said Greggs is working hard not to pass on all cost increases to customers.
