A BAKERY giant with over 2,600 UK branches is set to close one of its locations in days.
The popular pastry and sandwich chain is shuttering the store in Cambridge on March 31.
The Greggs store on Fitzroy Street will close with staff relocated to nearby branches where possible.
Shoppers next nearest branch is in Station Square just over a mile away.
News of the closure has been met with devastation from customers.
Posting on Facebook, one said: “I nearly cried at reading the news that the Grafton Greggs is closing.”
Another, tagging a friend, commented: “Actually what do we do during exams lad.”
Meanwhile a third simply added: “It’s over.”
The Cambridge store is not the first Greggs branch to shut this year.
A location in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, closed for good in January.
The shop closed due to a dispute over rent, according to local news reports.
Meanwhile, a Greggs shop on Foleshill Road, Coventry, shut its doors for the final time at the start of the year.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Why are shops closing stores? ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6353582364112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]It is by no means all bad news at Greggs though, as the bakery chain is eyeing up major expansion plans.
The chain, which currently runs just over 2,600 stores, is set to open between 140 and 150 shops this year.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D110334%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Boss Roisin Currie said the chain would forge forward with the plans despite cost pressures.
She said in January: “There are still places where you cannot access Greggs. We are confident in the continuing growth of Greggs.”
Ms Currie added that while “consumer confidence has fallen, disposable income has actually improved so I think we will see an improvement when consumer confidence improves”.
The comments came as Greggs celebrated more than £2billion of sales in 2024 for the first time, an 11.3% increase on the previous year’s £1.8 billion.
Meanwhile, the firm opened 226 shops in 2024.
HIGH STREET STRUGGLES
Greggs may have tasted success in recent years, but the high street has struggled more broadly as the trend towards online shopping continues.
The most recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows online retail sales increased from 5% of all retail sales in 2008 to 27% in 2022.
Shoppers have also been feeling the pinch in recent years following high inflation which has dented wallets and purses.
A House of Lords report published last year admitted the dominance of retail on high streets was “something of the past”.
It said there was a greater demand for restaurants and leisure activities, as well as public services, such as health centres and libraries, in town centres.
The Centre for Retail Research’s latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.
Of those, 11,341 were independent shops while 2,138 were shut by larger retailers.
A higher number of closures is expected this year too, with the centre predicting store closures to rise to about 17,350 in 2025.
It said it expects closures to surge due to the April rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and national minimum wage.