Greggs rolls out change for Sainsbury's shoppers 'seven days a week'

Greggs has opened its 2,500th shop as its expansion continues. The milestone store is part of a petrol forecourt in Cobham, Surrey, which is shared with Sainsbury’s, and has created 12 new jobs and will be open seven days a week.

Greggs, a bakery chain known for its bakes, pies, pasties, and sweet treats, plans to open between 140 and 160 new shops this year, with a focus on expanding its presence in travel hubs and roadside locations to reach more customers.

The Cobham store is Greggs’ eighth partnership with Sainsbury’s and its 50th with one of the main supermarket chains. Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs, said: “We’re proud to have hit this milestone and opened our 2,500th shop in a location which demonstrates the breadth of our estate and the popularity of our brand."

READ MORE Defiant UK tourists take action after Tenerife and Lanzarote protests

The statement from the Greegs chief went on to say: "We are grateful for the hard work of our teams and the support of our valued partners as we continue to expand towards our vision of significantly more than 3,000 Greggs shops longer term.”

Rhian Bartlett, chief food commercial officer at Sainsbury’s added: “We’re delighted to have opened our eighth shop with Greggs at our Cobham store. It follows the successful launches of Greggs café-style formats at other Sainsbury’s locations, which have already proved popular with our customers."

Ms Bartlett, speaking on behalf of Sainsbury's, which is rivalled by the likes of Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, went on to say: "Our collaboration with Greggs is part of our ongoing plan to attract many more people to choose Sainsbury’s as the place they come to for good food, and we’re excited to build on this partnership further.”

Greggs has previously revealed plans to open “significantly more” than 3,000 shops in the UK in the longer term. In this year along, Greggs wants to open between 140 and 160 new shops in 2024. Greggs had 220 gross shop openings and 145 net new shops last year.