Greggs (GRG) looks set to make job cuts as it warned that business would sit below normal levels “for the foreseeable future”. Low footfall continued to hamper the purveyor of vegan sausage rolls, since it disclosed in July that it had tumbled into a half-year loss of £65m. Greggs has since doubled its planned net store openings from 10 to 20, but a difficult second half has resulted in a 29 per cent year-on-year reduction in sales during the 12 weeks to 26 September. A consultation with employees over jobs is underway.
Greggs missed out on the government’s August ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme owing to the closure of its seated areas, in what amounted to a “challenging month” for the company. Trading has improved in its most recent four weeks, which were around 24 per cent below last year. Greggs also pointed to its tie-up with Just Eat, with delivery accounting for 2.6 per cent of sales in the week to 26 September. Click and collect is now available in all of its shops.
