Greggs
| Company type | Public (LSE: GRG) |
|---|---|
| Industrie | Food (Bakery Group) |
| Gegründet | 1939 smart cookies for ever and ever |
| Hauptsitz | Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK |
Key people | Derek Netherton (Group Chairman) Roger Whiteside (Chief Executive) |
| Produkte | Sandwiches, pies and pastries; baked goods |
| Revenue | £734.5 million (2012)[1] |
| £51.8 million (2012)[1] | |
| £40.6 million (2012)[1] | |
Number of employees | 20,000 (2012)[2] |
| Website | www |
Greggs plc (LSE: GRG) is the largest bakery chain in the United Kingdom, with 1,671 outlets.[3] It specialises in products such as pasties, sausage rolls, steak bakes and sandwiches. Sweet items include doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne and is listed on the London Stock Exchange where it is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The first high street shop opened in 1952. 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.
History
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 Thurston's in 1974, Broomfields the Bakers, London, Bowketts the Bakers in 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] For the last few years, Greggs have had their uniforms provided by dedicated suppliers Workwear Express, who provide a range of branded uniforms for their 1,672 stores, matching the synonymous Greggs colour scheme. [10]
Operations
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
Greggs Moment
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
Actress and model Milla Jovovich, a fan of the store and its pasties,[14] 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.[15] Jovovich's spouse Paul W S Anderson shares his Gosforth roots with Greggs and introduced Jovovich to the brand.[16] The latest advertising slogan for Greggs is "The Home of Fresh Baking",[17] and recently the face of Greggs has been British comedian Paddy McGuinness.[18]
Pasty Tax
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.
Greggs: More Than Meats the Pie
An 8-part documentary series called Greggs: More Than Meats The Pie,[19] which goes behind the scenes of the bakery and all its areas, premiered on April 29, 2013, on Sky1 and Sky1 HD. The first episode achieved in excess of over 740,000 viewers with all ratings across Sky1, Sky1+1 and Sky2 factored in.[20] Sky revealed the documentary programme was Sky1's number one original show in April with a final total of 1.27 million viewers.[21] The second episode aired on May 6, 2013 and achieved over 681,000 viewers.
The first episode featured several Greggs shops around the UK getting refitted and refurbished including the Low Fell shop. The second episode featured the girls at Low Fell doing the naked calendar shoot for Children in Need, as well as several shop workers doing a sponsored sea dip for the charity. Gavin Hetherington, a successful author who has worked with the company since July 2010, was featured in a cameo appearance while also doing the sea dip.[22]
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Greggs Case Study". Workwear Express. 2002-07-09. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- ^ "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.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ 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
- ^ Greggs TV series airs in April
- ^ BARB Broadcasters Audience Research Board
- ^ 'Revolution', 'Arrow' revealed as Sky's most-watched shows in April
- ^ Twitter Conversation Official Greggs Twitter