Newcastle bakery chain Greggs has launched a new style of shop amid moves to bring its products to more people in prime locations across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
The leading food-on-the-go firm already has 2,600 stores across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and has long been actioning a strategy to make sure its stores are based in a variety of locations, to make sure they are placed wherever their customers may be. Now Greggs has launched a new store format – the Bitesize Greggs – a shop with, as the name suggests, a smaller footprint in which it can offer a range of its food and drinks to more customers in high-footfall, prime locations which are constrained by space.
The first Bitesize Greggs has just opened in Sevenoaks Railway Station, creating 10 new jobs as it sets about serving customers seven days a week. The store offers a range of its best-selling customer favourites, from savoury bakes to sweet treats and Fairtrade hot drinks.
Greggs will open a small number of Bitesize Greggs in a trial run and then assess consumer behaviour and operational efficiencies in the new stores. And bosses believe the more agile shop format will allow it enter more prime locations – mostly travel hubs - many of which were previously out of reach due to the size needed for traditional Greggs shop formats.
The new smaller stores will be rolled out alongside more traditional, larger Greggs shops in line with its growth plans and in response to continued strong consumer demand. This year, it is on track to open around 120 net new shops, averaging around four new shop openings every week.
After Sevenoaks, the next Bitesize Greggs shop will open in December in Dartford Station, Kent and Cheshire Oaks in the North West - and more openings are poised to follow.
Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs said: “We’re excited to announce the launch of our ‘Bitesize Greggs’ concept. This small but mighty new format will allow us to reach more customers on the go from compact units, whilst still offering a selection of our best-selling products.
“The rollout of Bitesize Greggs, initially on a trial basis, will support our broader estate growth plans.â€
Greggs has more than 2,600 shops across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, based everywhere from transport hubs and high streets to Tesco stores and retail parks. As well as its popular shops with sit-in areas the firm has branched out in recent years to operate drive-thru restaurants, including the first to open in the region in Gosforth.
The firm also has a network of Greggs Outlets shops, where its unsold food is redistributed and sold at a lower price. Last month saw Greggs open its 40th Outlet in Edinburgh, creating seven new jobs to mark another step in its mission to reduce food waste and support local communities.
A share of profits from each Outlet shop goes to local charities through The Greggs Foundation, which awarded over £1.85m in community grants last year.
