Greggs total sales for 2022 grew 23% to £1,513m compared to 2021 levels as keeping stores open later into the evening helped boost sales as customers sought out cheaper on-the-go dining options.
Growth in products such as pizzas and chicken goujons were integral to Greggs’ group sales increase as customers returned to their stores in greater numbers.
Greggs 2022 like-for-like sale grew 17.8% and operating profit for the year rose 1.8% to £148.3m.
The bakery chain continued their expansion strategy with 147 net new openings to total 2,328 shops at the end of 2022. Key new sites include central locations including Liverpool Street Station and Leicester Square. Greggs now has 500 shops open until 8pm or later.
In terms of their supply chain, the company alluded to a challenging cost environment this year and last. To combat this, the group has passed on cost to customers where possible, conscious of their pricing and attractiveness to a wide audience.
“It’s not just sausage rolls that are flying off Greggs’ shelves these days, pizza and chicken goujons join the party, as later shop openings and a push in the delivery game yield results. It’s later in the day that Greggs is seeing the strongest sales growth and it’s leveraging the trend well, with 500 shops open until 8pm and plans to extend that further over 2023,” said Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Delivery volumes have been normalising to approximately 5% of sales, but management remains confident longer-term opportunity remains intact – we’re inclined to agree. Click + Collect will be a key focus in 2023, and the Greggs app should help drive engagement with customers, which is seeing strong growth with 1.1 million active customers in Q4.”
Greggs has invested in a new pizza production plant in Enfield and is expanding their pastry capacity.