Greggs
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| Type | Public (LSE: GRG) |
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| Industry | Food (Bakery Group) |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK |
| Key people | Derek Netherton (Group Chairman) Roger Whiteside (Chief Executive) |
| Products | Sandwiches, pies and pastries; baked goods |
| Revenue | £734.5 million (2012)[1] |
| Operating income | £51.8 million (2012)[1] |
| Net income | £40.6 million (2012)[1] |
| Employees | 20,000 (2012)[2] |
| Website | www.greggs.co.uk |
Greggs plc (LSE: GRG) is the largest 'bakery' chain in the United Kingdom. Their first high street shop opened in 1952, and since then has grown to 1,671 outlets.[3] It specialises in products such as pasties, sausage rolls and sandwiches. Sweet items include doughnuts and vanilla slices.
It is based in Newcastle upon Tyne and is listed on the London Stock Exchange where it is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Originally growing organically from its North East base, Greggs began to acquire regional bakery chains across the rest of the country from the 1970s onwards. By the 1990s it was the largest bakery chain in the country, after acquiring its major rival, Baker's Oven.
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History [edit]
Greggs was founded by John Gregg as a Tyneside bakery in 1939.[4] It opened its first shop in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1951.[5]
When John died in 1964, the bakery was taken over by his son, Ian, assisted by his brother, Colin. Major expansion began soon after, including the acquisitions of other bakeries such as Glasgow based Rutherglen in 1972, Leeds based Thurstons in 1974, Broomfields the Bakers, London, Bowketts the Bakers Kent, Tooks the Bakers (East Anglia) and Manchester based Price's in 1976.[6]
In 1994, the company acquired the Bakers Oven chain of bakers' shops from Allied Bakeries.[6]
In 1999, Greggs rebranded its 100 Braggs bakers shops as Greggs of the Midlands and its Leeds-based Thurston chain as Greggs of Yorkshire.[7]
Starting in 2003, in an attempt to test the foreign market, Greggs opened a total of ten stores in Belgium; principally in Antwerp and Leuven.[7] These have all since closed.
On 9 December 2008, Greggs announced that all of its 165 Bakers Oven branded shops would be re-branded into the Greggs brand so that all the shops could benefit from the Greggs national advertising campaign.[8] In March 2011, the company opened its 1,500th shop, in York.[3] In May 2012, the company began selling frozen pasties through the Iceland supermarket chain. In January 2013, Greggs replaced its CEO Ken McMeikan with Punch Taverns CEO Roger Whiteside. McMeikan left the firm for Brakes Group.[9]
Operations [edit]
The company has grown steadily over the years and now has over 1,500 outlets, with many town and city centres having several stores. In 2009, Greggs announced plans for another 600 stores, and has become bigger than fast food chain McDonalds, within the UK.[10] It has a divisional structure with central bakeries around the country supplying the shops in their surrounding areas.
As well as selling British freshly baked savouries such as sausage rolls and Cornish pasties, local items are also available. Traditional Tyneside and, more generally, North East foods are usually available, for example pease pudding and Stotties. The available products are frequently updated and change according to the time of year. For example at Hallowe'en various themed products are available.
In October 2007, Greggs pioneered a late night store in the entertainment quarter of Birmingham. This branch is the first of its kind putting it in direct competition with more traditional late-night eateries. A store in Sheffield (Division Street) and Leeds (Albion Street) both open late from Wednesdays to Saturdays, with two stores in Glasgow (Gordon Street, Sauchiehall Street) open late Friday-Saturday. The Neville Street store in Newcastle upon Tyne is open until 4:30am on most nights.[11]
In 2011, the company could increase its sales by 5.8% (compared to 2010) and achieved sales of £701 million. In 2013, around 200 to 300 shops will be refitted.[12]
Greggs Moment [edit]
In 2012 Greggs opened its first Greggs Moment, a 104-seater coffee shop in its home town of Newcastle located on Northumberland Street this store was shortly followed by one in the nearby Metrocentre and the Hill Street Shopping Centre, Middlesbrough.
Marketing [edit]
Actress and model Milla Jovovich, a fan of the store and its pasties,[13] said in 2002 that she would be willing to become the "face of Greggs" in a new marketing campaign if the firm approached her, though no such approach was made.[14] Jovovich's spouse Paul W S Anderson shares his Gosforth roots with Greggs and introduced Jovovich to the brand.[15] The latest advertising slogan for Greggs is "The Home of Fresh Baking",[16] and recently the face of Greggs has been British comedian Patrick McGuinness.[17]
Pasty Tax [edit]
When George Osborne announced in the 2012 Budget that he was going to charge VAT on hot food, Greggs participated in a campaign to reverse this decision. This became known as the Pasty Tax or Pasty Gate. The campaign was a success and the decision was reversed in May 2012.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Preliminary Results 2012
- ^ Greggs: Looking after our staff
- ^ a b "GREGGS plc INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT" (PDF). Greggs plc. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
- ^ "Takeaway market holds key to Greggs' future". The Northern Echo. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ "Earning a crust; How famous bakery rose from pushbike yeast deliveries Remember When a blast from the past. (News)". Entrepreneur.com. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ a b "history". Greggs. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ a b "Greggs". Ukbusinesspark.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ "Chief Executive's Review and Trading Update". Greggs plc. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
- ^ Nathalie Thomas (24 January 2013). "Greggs poaches Punch Taverns chief". Telegraph.
- ^ "How did Greggs conquer the High Street?". BBC News. 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ "Greggs in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE1 5DF". Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ^ CFO Allison Kirkby Named Director at GreggsCFO Insight Magazine, January 2013
- ^ "Milla munches Geordie fare". BBC News. 2002-07-09. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Slav to love". Daily Telegraph. 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Milla Jovovich and hubby’s baby hopes". Sunday Sun. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ Bringing Home the Baking
- ^ Paddy McGuinness campaign helps Greggs the baker Daily Mirror, 12 August 2009
External links [edit]
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