Greggs stockpiles bacon ahead of Brexit deadline
Grab-and-go food retailer Greggs is stockpiling longer-shelf life ingredients like bacon ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit, it confirmed, as it unveiled a 12.4% jump in sales for the third quarter of 2019.
The company said it was "preparing for the potential impact of the UK's departure form the European Union by building stocks of key ingredients and equipment".
Those ingredients are understood to include bacon and tuna, while the firm is also adding extra lorries to its fleet to manage any potential disruption.
It made similar preparations ahead of the original March Brexit deadline and is now undertaking the same exercise ahead of 31 October, although its reliance on large amounts of fresh produce means that the business is limited in how much it can stockpile.
In its trading update, Greggs revealed a 12.4% uplift in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 28 September 2019. Company-managed like-for-like sales rose 7.4% over the same period.
Total sales have grown by 13.9% in the nine months to 28 September 2019 and like-for-like sales have increased by 9.4%.
The business has a net total of 56 new shops in the year to date (made up of 90 openings and 34 closures) and launched its 2,000th shop in August.
Greggs is currently running trials to open shops later into the evening, supported by ‘post-4pm' deals such as a £2 pizza plus drink offer and a new hot menu meal deal, which is made up of any hot sandwich or chicken goujons plus potato wedges and a drink for £4.
