Greggs has appetite to grow estate by 160 stores in 2024
Bakery chain Greggs has said it is aiming to increase the size of its estate by between 140 and 160 stores in 2024, following a record year of openings.
Greggs – which operated 2,473 shops by the end of 2023 – said there is “clear opportunity for significantly more than 3,000 UK shops over the longer term”.
In 2023, the chain opened a record 220 new shops and closed 75, whilst relocating 42 shops and refurbishing 122.
Over the course of the year, Greggs continued to expand its partnerships with retailers including Primark, Tesco and newest addition Sainsbury’s. The operator also extended its travel presence in London with new shops in Canary Wharf and Waterloo railway stations, as well as a branch in Gatwick Airport.
The chain also said it is increasingly competing in the evening market, with over 1,200 Greggs sites competing for food-on-the-go sales until 7pm or later.
This comes as Greggs releases its preliminary results for 2023, a period during which the chain’s sales increased to £1.81bn, up from £1.51bn in 2022. The operator recorded a pre-tax profit (excluding exceptional income) of £167.7m, up from £148.3m.
Roisin Currie, Greggs chief executive, said: “Despite an economic backdrop that continued to be challenging with high inflation and the resulting cost-of-living pressure, the resilience of the Greggs brand and the strength of our business mean we kept on providing the great value, tasty products and friendly service that our customers love us for.
“We are very much on track to deliver our bold five-year growth plan to double sales by 2026 and to have significantly more than 3,000 shops in the UK over the longer term.”