It's snow problem for Greggs as sales soar

Bakery chain Greggs saw sales jump almost 20 per cent before Christmas to finish the year in positive territory.

The snow disrupted shopping patterns in the earlier part of December but Greggs said the record Christmas week meant sales were still higher in the five weeks to 8 January - up 0.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 3.5 per cent overall.

Total sales in the Christmas week were up 19.6 per cent and by 16 per cent at a same-store level.

The firm's Scots-born chief executive, Ken McMeikan, paid tribute to his staff for the record Christmas week and for opening a further 19 shops in December despite the snow.

He added: "I can't speak highly enough about our people both for the smooth handling of our expansion programme and for the remarkable dedication that they have shown in keeping our shops open and our supply chain functioning during the exceptionally bad weather during November and December."

Despite the impact of the snow, Greggs said it remained on track to deliver profits in line with City forecasts and added that it was well-positioned to make further progress in 2011. Total sales for the year were up 2.2 per cent.

The chain, trading from 1,487 shops at the start of the year, plans to open around 80 shops, creating more than 700 jobs.