Greggs has this morning reported on an “encouraging” start to the year, with like-for-like sales (lfls) at its company-managed stores up 3.2% for the eight weeks to 24 February.
It follows the previously announced 3.7% lfls rise in 2017, during which time sales grew 7.4% to £960m. Pre-tax profit was £71.9m.
The group said it had seen further improvements to its product range, with specific focus on hot drinks and hot food, while its ‘balanced choice’ range now accounts for more than £100m of sales.
During 2017 131 new shops opened, while there were 41 closures – amounting to 90 net openings and left the group with an estate of 1,854 shops trading at 30 December 2017.
Refurbishment of shops slowed down last year as the company reached the end of its programme to transform its legacy bakery shops to the food-on-the-go format. It completed 132 refurbishments and franchise partners refurbished a further ten units.
As previously reported Greggs intends to further accelerate growth in 2018, with plans for 110-130 net new shops in the year.
Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “In 2017 we delivered another strong performance in challenging economic circumstances as rising inflation impacted both our own costs and customers’ disposable income. At the same time we continued to make good progress with our business transformation programme.
“Whilst the UK consumer outlook remains challenging, we are encouraged by the start to the year. 2018 will be the peak year for investment in our supply chain as we create the platforms for further growth. We also plan to open a record number of new shops as we implement our plan to grow Greggs as a leading food-on-the-go brand.”
