Greggs’ Festive Sales Increase

British baking stalwart Greggs has reported a five per cent sale increase over the last year.

Strong trading for four weeks over the festive period helped boost sales for the bakery with more than a million mince pies sold each week.

Sales of mince pies, assisted by the launch of Gregg’s new Viennese mince pie, rose six per cent from the previous year.

Ken McMeikan, chief executive officer, said: “I am very pleased with our sales performance, particularly over Christmas, in what has remained a challenging trading environment for the high street.

“We expect to report results in line with expectations when we make our preliminary results announcement on March 18.”

The baker, which is the UK’s largest bakery chain, reported a 0.8 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in 2009 with a 3.1 per cent total sales and a 1.1 per cent like-for-like sales increase in December.

In 2009 Greggs opened 49 new shops but closed 39. The company estimates between 50 and 60 new shops will be opened in 2010.