Sausage roll vendor Greggs has recorded a £13.7m pre-tax loss for the full year to 2 January, but growth in its click and collect and nascent delivery and drive through businesses has left it bullish about its recovery.
The company saw sales in 2020 fall from 2019’s £1.16bn to £811.3m, impacted by the closure of its stores and reduced footfall across the year. It is the company’s first loss in 36 years.
Despite this, however, retailer has plans to expand, looking to open 100 new shops in 2021, as well as greatly expanding its nascent click and collect, delivery and international expansion.
The click and collect model has proven increasingly effective across the later part of the lockdown, with the company’s new app due in Q2 2021 also set to drive up these sales. Greggs is also revamping its loyalty programme, building that into its new app to drive these new sales.
Delivery has also seen growth off the back of the new app, now accounting for 5.5% of company managed shop sales in Q4 2020, up to 9.6% in the first 10 weeks of 2021. The company is also looking to extend delivery into the early evenings.
Roger Whiteside, Greggs chief executive, comments: “Greggs has made a better-than-expected start to 2021 given the extent of lockdown conditions and is well placed to participate in the recovery from the pandemic. It has a clear strategy to extend its digital capabilities and to grow further in new locations, channels and dayparts. These opportunities will benefit all of its stakeholders in the years to come.”
