Mince pie sales boost Greggs

12th Jan 2011 07:17

Bakery chain Greggs said like for like sales rose 0.6% over the Christmas trading period while total sales climbed 3.5% as shoppers snapped up hot coffee and mince pies."The last-minute rush by many shoppers, combined with a more favourable trading pattern where Christmas day fell on Saturday, drove strong sales," said Greggs in a company statement.During the Christmas trading period coffee sales surged 26% while sweet mince pie sales rose 19%.In the Christmas week ending 25 December 2010 Greggs said total sales increased 19.6% and like-for-like sales by 16%.For the financial year ended 1 January 2011 total sales rose 2.2% and like-for-like sales gained 0.2%.Chief executive Ken McMeikan commented, "Despite the impact of the snow, we anticipate reporting full year results in line with expectations."He added, "The consumer environment in the year ahead is likely to continue to be challenging but we remain well positioned to make further progress in 2011 and expect to open around 80 net new shops, creating more than 700 new jobs."