Greggs makes good start to 2017
Bakery chain Greggs has said it made a good start to 2017 with total sales increasing by 7.5% in first 19 weeks of the year. Company-managed shop like-for-like sales climbed by 3.6%.
In a statement, the company said its £2 breakfast offer and its Balanced Choice healthier eating range had both proved popular with customers.
During the period, Greggs completed 87 shop refurbishments and opened 42 new shops, including 20 franchised units in transport locations. After the closure of 14 shops, there were 1,792 shops trading at 13 May.
The company said new shop openings will be focused on food-on-the-go locations, the relocation of existing shops and new catchments such as Northern Ireland and the south west of England.
Looking ahead, Greggs said: “We have made a good start to 2017 although the sales outlook remains uncertain in the context of slowing growth in disposable incomes. Input cost inflation is having a modest impact on margins in the first half of the year as expected, however we have increasing visibility of costs for the second half and anticipate this pressure to ease towards the end of the year.”
