Greggs has opened 2,500 stores in the UK, as it steams ahead with its five-year growth plan.
The bakery giant launched its latest store in Sainsbury’s Bridgeway in Cobham, based on a petrol forecourt, marking its eighth shop opened with the grocer and 50th store opened with supermarket partners.
Greggs kicked off its five-year growth plan in 2021, which involves a long-term target of opening more than 3,000 stores across the UK.
The plan includes opening between 140 and 160 new stores this year, mainly based in travel hubs and on roadside locations.
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Greggs property director Tony Rowson said: “We’re proud to have hit this milestone and opened our 2,500th shop in a location which demonstrates the breadth of our estate and the popularity of our brand.
“We are grateful for the hard work of our teams and the support of our valued partners as we continue to expand towards our vision of significantly more than 3,000 Greggs shops longer term.”
Sainsbury’s chief food commercial officer Rhian Bartlett also said: “We’re delighted to have opened our eighth shop with Greggs at our Cobham store. It follows the successful launches of Greggs café-style formats at other Sainsbury’s locations, which have already proved popular with our customers.”
Back in March, Greggs saw its annual profits skyrocket as its market share hit an “all-time high” despite experiencing a slow down in sales growth.
The food-to-go retailer reported pre-tax profits surged 27% to £188.3m in the 52 weeks to 30 December, up from £148.3m.
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