Greggs reports like-for-likes up 3.8% in First Half: Bakery chain Greggs has reported total sales rose 6.0% to £422m in the 26 weeks ended 2 July. Company-managed shops saw like-for-like sales up 3.8%. Operating profit excluding property gains and exceptional charge was up 6.7% to £27.2m (2015: £25.5m) There were property disposal gains of £2.2m (2015: £0.1m). There were 86 shop refurbishments completed year-to-date, with 200 planned for the year. 68 new shops were opened, and there were 36 closures. The company expects around 70 net new shops in the year. A total of 1,730 shops were trading within the estate as at 2 July 2016. Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “In the first half of 2016 we delivered good like-for-like growth by reinforcing the freshness and value of our offer in line with changing trends in the food-on-the-go market. We added to our “Balanced Choice” range with sales growing strongly as more and more of our customers recognise the quality, range and value we offer in these healthier food choices. We have made an encouraging start to the second half of the year and are alert to any change in consumer demand that may result from the current economic uncertainty. Overall, we expect to deliver full-year growth in line with our previous expectations as well as further progress against our strategic plan.” He added: “In the first half of 2016 we delivered good like-for-like growth by reinforcing the freshness and value of our offer in line with changing trends in the food-on-the-go market. We added to our ‘Balanced Choice’ range with sales growing strongly as more and more of our customers recognise the quality, range and value we offer in these healthier food choices. As an example our new Chargrill Chicken Salad is freshly prepared in our shops and contains just 200 calories. Breakfast remains our fastest-growing part of the day and we have successfully broadened our coffee range and invested in improved service levels to meet growing demand. We re-launched the Greggs Rewards app in the period, introducing a simplified registration process and improved payment compatibility. Membership has grown quickly since launch of the improved app and this will help us to understand consumer needs better whilst rewarding loyal customers. We continue to invest in the transformation of our shop estate and in the period we completed 86 shop refurbishments to our latest ‘bakery food-on-the-go’ format; we have continued to see the expected positive impact from this programme. Over the year as a whole we plan to update around 200 shops. In the first half of 2016 we also opened 68 new shops (including 31 franchise units) and closed 36 shops, giving a total of 1,730 shops (of which 136 are franchise units) trading at 2 July 2016. We have a strong pipeline of openings, weighted towards the end of the second half, and now expect to open around 70 net new shops over the year as a whole. Our plans to invest in the transformation and development of our supply chain are progressing well. We expect that our new distribution facility in Enfield will be operational in October allowing us to complete the closure of our existing Twickenham bakery in the fourth quarter as planned. In addition, planning permission has been secured for the extension of our Clydesmill bakery in Glasgow which will enable us to close our Edinburgh bakery during the second quarter of 2017, as previously announced. We are now planning the next phase of investment in our remaining sites, which will increase logistics capacity and consolidate manufacturing, with benefits in product quality, consistency and efficiency. In April this year we went live with the implementation of SAP to handle our core finance processes. The migration has gone well and will provide the platform on which we will build a suite of new capabilities across logistics, procurement, product lifecycle management and centralised ranging, forecasting and replenishment. We are on track to trial improved processes around shop stock replenishment in the second half of the year.”

AG Barr reports “challenging six months”: AG Barr, which produces IRN-BRU, Rubicon, Strathmore and Funkin, has reported a challenging six months to 30 July with continued deflation and volume declines. The company stated: “Latest available data from IRI, covering the period 31 January to 19 June 2016, shows value down 0.8% whilst volume declined by 0.4%, and indications are that the poor weather across the full month of June and into July will further adversely impact the total market performance. Consequently trading has been highly competitive but, despite this difficult market backdrop, we have maintained both value and volume overall market share. We anticipate revenue in the period of £125m, down 2.9% year on year on a like for like basis. Consumer preferences have continued to develop and we have successfully advanced our response to these long term trends. In the period we have announced a new IRN-BRU zero sugar variant and launched three major new lower sugar products. Our new products are all showing encouraging early signs with both customers and consumers, and are positive additions to our broadening portfolio. Despite the challenging market conditions we have remained focused on delivering against our strategy, launching relevant new products, closely controlling costs, managing risk and ensuring we generate strong free cash flow. Our recent Business Process Redesign investment is already producing customer service benefits and we have continued to invest for the long term in our assets and infrastructure.”

Zelman Meats to take Harvey Nichols residency: Zelman Meats will open its next restaurant on Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor. The team behind Goodman steakhouses will open the site tomorrow (Wednesday 3 August) serving ‘naked and toasted oysters’ and the ‘tastiest meat dishes’ in west London. Zelman opened its first site in Soho at the end of 2015, with a ‘simple approach to great meat, wines and cocktails’. An array of cuts are often available, from chateaubriand and picanha to smoked short ribs (smoked on site for a minimum of 12 hours). Olly Bird, executive chef, will introduce cuts of Kobe Wagyu for its Harvey Nics residency. Daniela Rinaldi, group commercial director at Harvey Nichols, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Zelman Meats to bring a new hospitality offering to our Fifth Floor in Knightsbridge. The restaurant is revered for its cuts of beef, oysters, hot sauces, sumptuous sides, fantastic wines and cocktails, and we cannot wait to welcome them in.”