Greggs enjoys strong sales growth
Greggs said its own shop like-for-like sales exceeded expectations in the first four months of the financial year, with growth of 5.9%.
In the 16 weeks to 25 April, total sales increased by 5% as breakfast items continued to be one of the main drivers of growth.
During the period, Greggs completed 69 shop refurbishments and will refit 200 to 220 shops this year. Now operating a total of 1,656 stores, the retailer also opened 24 new shops, including 17 franchised units in transport locations.
In addition, the retailer announced that it will open a test site on the M2 near Belfast on 30 April with the Irish motorway service operator Applegreen.
Looking ahead Greggs said: “We expect market conditions to remain favourable and support a good first half performance, ahead of our previous expectations. In the second half of the year we will come up against stronger sales comparables and a less certain cost outlook. However we expect to deliver good growth for the year as a whole and further progress against our strategic plan.”
