Greggs' total sales up 4.7% in Q1
It also reported a 1.3% increase in like-for-like sales in company-managed shops over the same period.
The brand's total sales have seen a surge with +4.7% in the first 18 weeks of 2018. Although, tradings in March and April are significantly impacted by weaker market conditions
At its preliminary results presentation last 27 February, Greggs reported a good start to 2018 - with company-managed shop like-for-like sales growth of 3.2% in the first eight weeks of the year. In the period that followed, market data confirms weak customer footfall in retail locations, which has impacted demand for food-on-the-go. The impact was especially significant in the weeks of severe weather when many shops, including Greggs', could not be opened.
The combination of these factors, along with the brand's strong comparative performance in the same period of 2017, has made for a challenging trading environment throughout March and April.
In the first 18 weeks, Greggs completed 36 shop refurbishments and opened 41 new shops, including 14 franchised units in transport locations. It closed 12 shops, giving a total of 1,883 shops trading at 5 May (comprising 1,669 company-managed shops and 212 franchised units). New shop openings remain focused on increasing the Greggs brand's reach into new food-on-the-go locations and the relocation of existing shops.
Greggs elaborated on its outlook, "We are well positioned to compete for sales in the months ahead with the launch of our new summer menu featuring new sandwiches and salads and we will be extending our offer of value meal deals. Costs are being controlled tightly with food input cost inflation easing in line with our expectations, and we expect this trend to continue.
"Taking into account trading conditions in the year to date, and our more cautious outlook, we currently believe that underlying profits for the year are likely to be at a similar level to last year."
