Greggs plans to open up to 150 new bakeries this year
The group, which has 2,638 bakeries across Britain and already has more stores than McDonald's, is planning another 140 to 150 further net new openings this year.
New store openings helped drive a 7.4 per cent increase in total sales to £784million over the first 20 weeks of 2025, Greggs said on Tuesday.
Like-for-like sales rose by 2.9 per cent over the period, having disappointed with a 1.7 per cent increase in the first nine weeks, which it blamed on a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
Growth at Greggs is also being bolstered by an expansion of its menu.
It has recently introduced new items like mac and cheese, chicken burgers and fish finger sandwiches.
The group has also embraced longer opening hours into the evening, increased delivery sales through Just Eat and Uber Eats, and launched the Greggs App.
Last week, Greggs raised prices on some products by up to 10 pence after a round of increases in January.
On Tuesday, Greggs said the construction of its new frozen product manufacturing and logistics facility in Derby and its National Distribution Centre in Kettering 'continues at pace'.
Both sites are, as planned, expected to be operational in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
The group added: 'The improved LFL sales performance has been delivered in what remains a challenging market context, and during a period that compares with our strongest performance in 2024.
'Our investment programme is on track and there has been no change to the outlook for cost inflation, which we expect to be around 6 per cent on a LFL basis. Our plans for managing the inflationary headwinds are progressing well and, whilst early in the financial year, the Board's expectations for the full year outcome remain unchanged.'
In March, Greggs forecast another 'year of progress' after reporting an underlying pre-tax profit of £190million for 2024.
However, Shares in Greggs have fallen by around 28 per cent so far this year, reflecting weakness among its core lower-income customer base.
Greggs ditches self-service fridges in some stores
Greggs has put sandwiches and drinks behind counters in some of its stores to help fend off shoplifters.
The bakery chain typically displays the items in self-service fridges, but has ditched this in at least five stores due to a spate of thefts.
Its site in Whitechapel, east London, is among those where it has launched the initiative.
The business is among a raft of retail firms to have reported a jump in crimes in recent years, including attempted violence against staff members.
A Greggs spokeswoman said: 'This is one of a number of initiatives we are trialling across a handful of shops which are exposed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour.
'Customers can expect to see our full range of great value and tasty Greggs favourites available from behind the counter.
'The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority.'
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