This report will explain the external factors that could influence the business that has
been chosen while trading internationally. As well as, what support systems are in
place to support the chosen business, a situational analysis on the two countries the
business can operate in and a justified conclusion recommending one country that
the selected business should operate in.
Introduction:
Greggs is a British bakery chain that was founded by John Gregg in 1939 and
opened its first shop in 1951, which aims to sell great-tasting, freshly prepared food
that customers can trust at affordable prices. In 2020, Greggs had 2,078 shops in the
UK (Statista, 2022) and they plan to open 150 new restaurants each year from 2022
until they eventually operate 3,000 shops around the UK and then begin to expand
abroad (inews, 2021). Greggs specialise in selling food on the go. Such as bakes,
sausage rolls, sandwiches and pizza as well as sweet items like doughnuts and
vanilla slices. In 2021, Greggs made £1,230 million in sales which is a large growth
from £811 million in 2020 and £1,168 million in 2019. (Greggs, 2022).
Greggs does not currently operate internationally however, they have in the past and
aim to consider international expansion by 2025 (CityA.M.,2020). Greggs has
operated internationally in the past, with 10 outlets in Belgium being opened in 2003
as part of a “controlled, low-cost experiment”, however, this plan was then
abandoned in 2008 (FT, 2008). Similarly, Greggs also experimented by trialling
opening outlets within Dublin in Ireland in 2016, however, Greggs then decided to
focus on opening outlets within Northern Ireland instead.
Greggs aims and objectives:
Greggs’ objective is to be their customers’ favourite brand for food on the go. Greggs
do this by having aims to put customers at the heart of their business, by selling
great tasting freshly prepared food, offering the best customer experience, having a
competitive supply chain and having first-class support teams.
Greggs make sure that they achieve their aim of selling great tasting fresh food that
customers can trust and at affordable prices by developing products in line with
changing food trends, making sure there is a right balance between innovation and
tradition by working hard to ensure there are always new products to excite
customers while developing existing ones, offering new vegan and vegetarian foods,
like vegan sausage rolls, to encourage more customers to eat at Greggs and by
offering deals such as their £2 ‘pizza slice and drink’ offer after 4 pm (Greggs, 2019).
,Greggs make sure that they achieve their aim of giving the best customer experience
to their customers by regularly expanding their business, opening 150 new
restaurants each year from 2022 until they have at least 3,000 shops. Greggs also
plans to keep at least 500 of their stores open until 8 pm for customer convenience
and to capitalise on evening trading. Greggs make sure that they offer modern and
attractive shopping environments while training their staff to deliver fast and friendly
service so it is easy for customers to get food on the go. Greggs also regularly trial
new things to give customers a better experience, such as trialling click and collect in
Manchester, opening three drive-thrus and working with delivery services such as
Deliveroo to offer home delivery to their customers (Greggs, 2019).
Greggs have a competitive supply chain by always looking for ways to be more
efficient and to minimise their impact on the environment. Greggs regularly invests in
their supply chain in order to create new things that excite customers and they have
opened a second dedicated Distribution Centre to support shop growth in the south
of England (Greggs, 2019). Greggs has pledged to become a carbon-neutral, zero-
waste business in order to put an end to food waste by promising to create 25% less
food waste in 2025 than in 2018 and by using 100% renewable energy across all of
their operations by 2025 (Greggs, 2022).
Greggs has a first-class support team by making sure all of their staff are well-trained
in order to provide customers with great service to all of their colleagues and
customers. Greggs are committed to providing their teams with first-class systems
living up to Greggs values in order to manage their product range and availability
(Greggs, 2019).
Industry Overview:
Greggs is a British bakery chain, which operates in the food on the go industry.
Greggs serves more than six million customers each week, selling 50,000 doughnuts
an hour and producing 2.5 million sausage rolls each week, the equivalent of five
sausage rolls every second (WalesOnline, 2021). In the food industry, only Tesco
and McDonald’s sell more, with Greggs taking up a 4% share of the food market
compared to McDonald’s at 4.1%. Greggs also sells more sausage rolls than
McDonald’s sells Big Macs, which shows the huge demand for Greggs products
within the UK (WalesOnline, 2021). Greggs use great marketing techniques in order
to gain a large number of customers such as, regularly introducing exciting new
products like vegan sausage rolls and opening stalls at food festivals, which helps to
make Greggs the most popular dining brand in the UK for Q4 2021, with a popularity
rating of 73%, which is 13% more than McDonald’s, and 15% more than Greggs’
competitor Costa Coffee (YouGov, 2021). In the UK, Greggs had around 2,078
shops in 2020 (Statista, 2022), which they want to increase to 3,000 to offer
customers convenience, as more potential customers will be near a Greggs store the
more they expand. Greggs success has made it the biggest bakery chain in the UK,
with annual sales at Greggs reaching above £1 billion for the first time in 2019 (Daily
Record, 2019), and as the business continues to expand, revenues are likely to
continue to grow. Greggs's main competitors within the UK include Pret A Manger,
Finsbury Food Group and Costa Coffee, with their main competitor being Pret A
Manger. However, Greggs are staying ahead of their competitors, with a current
2,078 stores open in the UK, compared to Pret A Manger’s 390 stores, as well as
Greggs making around double the revenue than Pret A Manger in 2020, with Greggs
making around £800 million compared to Pret A Manger’s around £400 million in
, revenue. This shows that Greggs have adapted to the food-on-the-go market well, as
they are able to stay ahead of their competitors and grow their market share. The UK
food to go market took a 29% dip in sales during the pandemic in 2020, with lunch
being the most impacted with a 37% fall in sales, as lockdown restrictions meant that
the majority of people had to work from home and stores such as Greggs had to
close or offer a delivery-only service. However, the food to go market has recovered
quickly due to its versatility and value-led proposition, with a 2021 growth of 41%. By
the end of 2021, the food to go market is forecasted to be worth £21.2 billion, which
is just £0.1 billion less than before the pandemic in 2019. This shows that the food to
go market which Greggs operate in, has almost fully recovered within a year,
showing that the market is stable and that there continues to be a demand for food to
go (BigHospitality, 2021). The key trends within the UK food market currently are to
focus on being environmentally friendly, good value for money and home deliveries
to offer convenience to customers (Retail Economics, 2022).
China:
China is located in Southeast Asia and has the largest population of any country in
the world, with over 1.4 billion people living there and a 0.3% annual population
growth rate. China is an emerging market, with a GDP per capita of $10,500.40 USD
in 2020, which is over double their GDP per capita 10 years ago in 2010 at
$4,550.45 USD. This shows that China’s economy is rapidly growing but it has not
grown enough for it to be a developed country. China has an area of 3.7 million
square miles making it the third-largest country in landmass, with their main
language being Mandarin Chinese and the average life expectancy there being 77
years. China uses Yuan as their currency, currently, 1 Chinese Yuan is £0.12 British
Pounds.
been chosen while trading internationally. As well as, what support systems are in
place to support the chosen business, a situational analysis on the two countries the
business can operate in and a justified conclusion recommending one country that
the selected business should operate in.
Introduction:
Greggs is a British bakery chain that was founded by John Gregg in 1939 and
opened its first shop in 1951, which aims to sell great-tasting, freshly prepared food
that customers can trust at affordable prices. In 2020, Greggs had 2,078 shops in the
UK (Statista, 2022) and they plan to open 150 new restaurants each year from 2022
until they eventually operate 3,000 shops around the UK and then begin to expand
abroad (inews, 2021). Greggs specialise in selling food on the go. Such as bakes,
sausage rolls, sandwiches and pizza as well as sweet items like doughnuts and
vanilla slices. In 2021, Greggs made £1,230 million in sales which is a large growth
from £811 million in 2020 and £1,168 million in 2019. (Greggs, 2022).
Greggs does not currently operate internationally however, they have in the past and
aim to consider international expansion by 2025 (CityA.M.,2020). Greggs has
operated internationally in the past, with 10 outlets in Belgium being opened in 2003
as part of a “controlled, low-cost experiment”, however, this plan was then
abandoned in 2008 (FT, 2008). Similarly, Greggs also experimented by trialling
opening outlets within Dublin in Ireland in 2016, however, Greggs then decided to
focus on opening outlets within Northern Ireland instead.
Greggs aims and objectives:
Greggs’ objective is to be their customers’ favourite brand for food on the go. Greggs
do this by having aims to put customers at the heart of their business, by selling
great tasting freshly prepared food, offering the best customer experience, having a
competitive supply chain and having first-class support teams.
Greggs make sure that they achieve their aim of selling great tasting fresh food that
customers can trust and at affordable prices by developing products in line with
changing food trends, making sure there is a right balance between innovation and
tradition by working hard to ensure there are always new products to excite
customers while developing existing ones, offering new vegan and vegetarian foods,
like vegan sausage rolls, to encourage more customers to eat at Greggs and by
offering deals such as their £2 ‘pizza slice and drink’ offer after 4 pm (Greggs, 2019).
,Greggs make sure that they achieve their aim of giving the best customer experience
to their customers by regularly expanding their business, opening 150 new
restaurants each year from 2022 until they have at least 3,000 shops. Greggs also
plans to keep at least 500 of their stores open until 8 pm for customer convenience
and to capitalise on evening trading. Greggs make sure that they offer modern and
attractive shopping environments while training their staff to deliver fast and friendly
service so it is easy for customers to get food on the go. Greggs also regularly trial
new things to give customers a better experience, such as trialling click and collect in
Manchester, opening three drive-thrus and working with delivery services such as
Deliveroo to offer home delivery to their customers (Greggs, 2019).
Greggs have a competitive supply chain by always looking for ways to be more
efficient and to minimise their impact on the environment. Greggs regularly invests in
their supply chain in order to create new things that excite customers and they have
opened a second dedicated Distribution Centre to support shop growth in the south
of England (Greggs, 2019). Greggs has pledged to become a carbon-neutral, zero-
waste business in order to put an end to food waste by promising to create 25% less
food waste in 2025 than in 2018 and by using 100% renewable energy across all of
their operations by 2025 (Greggs, 2022).
Greggs has a first-class support team by making sure all of their staff are well-trained
in order to provide customers with great service to all of their colleagues and
customers. Greggs are committed to providing their teams with first-class systems
living up to Greggs values in order to manage their product range and availability
(Greggs, 2019).
Industry Overview:
Greggs is a British bakery chain, which operates in the food on the go industry.
Greggs serves more than six million customers each week, selling 50,000 doughnuts
an hour and producing 2.5 million sausage rolls each week, the equivalent of five
sausage rolls every second (WalesOnline, 2021). In the food industry, only Tesco
and McDonald’s sell more, with Greggs taking up a 4% share of the food market
compared to McDonald’s at 4.1%. Greggs also sells more sausage rolls than
McDonald’s sells Big Macs, which shows the huge demand for Greggs products
within the UK (WalesOnline, 2021). Greggs use great marketing techniques in order
to gain a large number of customers such as, regularly introducing exciting new
products like vegan sausage rolls and opening stalls at food festivals, which helps to
make Greggs the most popular dining brand in the UK for Q4 2021, with a popularity
rating of 73%, which is 13% more than McDonald’s, and 15% more than Greggs’
competitor Costa Coffee (YouGov, 2021). In the UK, Greggs had around 2,078
shops in 2020 (Statista, 2022), which they want to increase to 3,000 to offer
customers convenience, as more potential customers will be near a Greggs store the
more they expand. Greggs success has made it the biggest bakery chain in the UK,
with annual sales at Greggs reaching above £1 billion for the first time in 2019 (Daily
Record, 2019), and as the business continues to expand, revenues are likely to
continue to grow. Greggs's main competitors within the UK include Pret A Manger,
Finsbury Food Group and Costa Coffee, with their main competitor being Pret A
Manger. However, Greggs are staying ahead of their competitors, with a current
2,078 stores open in the UK, compared to Pret A Manger’s 390 stores, as well as
Greggs making around double the revenue than Pret A Manger in 2020, with Greggs
making around £800 million compared to Pret A Manger’s around £400 million in
, revenue. This shows that Greggs have adapted to the food-on-the-go market well, as
they are able to stay ahead of their competitors and grow their market share. The UK
food to go market took a 29% dip in sales during the pandemic in 2020, with lunch
being the most impacted with a 37% fall in sales, as lockdown restrictions meant that
the majority of people had to work from home and stores such as Greggs had to
close or offer a delivery-only service. However, the food to go market has recovered
quickly due to its versatility and value-led proposition, with a 2021 growth of 41%. By
the end of 2021, the food to go market is forecasted to be worth £21.2 billion, which
is just £0.1 billion less than before the pandemic in 2019. This shows that the food to
go market which Greggs operate in, has almost fully recovered within a year,
showing that the market is stable and that there continues to be a demand for food to
go (BigHospitality, 2021). The key trends within the UK food market currently are to
focus on being environmentally friendly, good value for money and home deliveries
to offer convenience to customers (Retail Economics, 2022).
China:
China is located in Southeast Asia and has the largest population of any country in
the world, with over 1.4 billion people living there and a 0.3% annual population
growth rate. China is an emerging market, with a GDP per capita of $10,500.40 USD
in 2020, which is over double their GDP per capita 10 years ago in 2010 at
$4,550.45 USD. This shows that China’s economy is rapidly growing but it has not
grown enough for it to be a developed country. China has an area of 3.7 million
square miles making it the third-largest country in landmass, with their main
language being Mandarin Chinese and the average life expectancy there being 77
years. China uses Yuan as their currency, currently, 1 Chinese Yuan is £0.12 British
Pounds.
