Greggs have announced that they are planning to extend opening hours across hundreds of their shops.
The bakery chain has also announced that prices could rise by as much as nine percent this year, following largely flat year-on-year financial results. Profits so far this year are sitting at £55.8million compared with £55.5million last year.
Because of this Greggs are looking for ways to pump up their profits, which includes extending opening hours until at least 8pm. They say that 300 of its shops already trade until this time, but want to roll out longer opening times across more of their stores.
The chain has more than 2,200 shops in the UK and say that they will aim to perform better during later hours, reports the Mirror. The company said: “The evening daypart represents the largest segment of the food-to-go market by value, but is the area where Greggs currently has the lowest penetration.”
They add: “By extending trading hours, addressing menu options and offering delivery we believe that Greggs can increase its participation in the evening market, further leveraging our investment in facilities that are under-utilised after 4pm.”
Greggs blamed the lacklustre profits on business rates being brought back into effect following the Covid pandemic, an increase in VAT and higher levels of cost inflation.
Greggs is planning on opening 150 new stores by the end of the year - with the company considering increasing the number to 3,000 "in the coming years".
The bakery giant will also offer more delivery services in order to gain more evening sales. At the moment, delivery through Just Eat is available across 1,180 shops, up from 1,000 at the start of the year.
“The majority of the new trade we have generated through delivery is incremental and that it offers additional access to Greggs at times when customers are unable to visit our shops themselves,” said Greggs.
Other plans include allowing customers to customise their sandwich fillings as part of a new trial. Diners can currently only customise pizza toppings when ordering through its click and collect service.
Roisin Currie, the chief executive who took over from Roger Whiteside earlier this year, said: “In a market where consumer incomes are under pressure Greggs offers exceptional value for customers looking for food and drink on the go.
“We are well positioned to navigate the widely publicised challenges affecting the economy and continue to have a number of exciting growth opportunities ahead, with a clear strategy for expansion. We remain confident in Greggs’ ability to deliver continued success.”
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