A Guest blog from John Haley Partner at Edwin Thompson
It’s always great to hear a success story in these uncertain times and I think this was reflected in the ambience of the audience and general networking last night. LA23NET with Ian Gregg of Greggs was buzzing with lots of new and old faces and the atmosphere was as upbeat and fun as ever.
Ian’s talk was captivating and whilst he was quick to point out that he is completely out of the business, Ian is still very passionate about the product and values laid down when it was still a family-run firm. Ian’s enthusiasm for quality produce shone through and he was concerned about the Greggs food arriving hot, on time and tasting good! – It did, and we all owe a big thanks to Lesley and her team at the Kendal Greggs shop for serving us up such delicious food last night.
What can businesses learn from Greggs?
Their success is down to getting three things right – a good product, a high level of customer service and at a reasonable price. Simple things that we should all be looking to achieve.
Make your product the best it can be
It was interesting that after Ian installed an on-site oven in the shops so they could produce freshly baked goods straight to the customer at the right temperature he thought the idea would be quickly copied by the competition. He feared that they would lose their competitive edge and that the queues round the corner for the hot baked stotties would soon diminish. But that didn’t happen, the market was too slow to react and in the years to come Greggs have carved their space on the high street up and down the country becoming the largest bakery chain in the UK.
Look after people and they’ll look after you
Today Greggs is recognised as a one of the country’s most forward-thinking brands but it’s old fashioned values that dictate their next move. What is the right thing to do? What do people need? What do people care about? Ian is proud to see that today Greggs still value the ‘right thing’ and is delighted to see how well the company look after their staff. Giving them responsibility, job security and ways to express their own community interests as well as tangible perks like share purchase options have resulted in passionate staff and a high level of customer service. Lovely Lesley from Kendal being a prime example.
Listen and move quickly
The hot stotties that helped create the Greggs as we know it today, came from a conversation with Ian’s head baker in Newcastle. He had explained that lots of mums came into the shops and asked for stotties, Ian listened, the company listened, they quickly started giving the people what they wanted. The vegan sausage roll is the modern day equivalent to that fateful conversation. Greggs leaders continue to listen to the market and move quickly to produce a great quality affordable product that brings new customers to the stores.
Do the right thing in your community
You don’t have to be the size of Greggs today to do the right thing where you are and there are many benefits for doing so. Ian showed how initiatives they used to do in Greggs in the early days like Pie n Pea suppers for the elderly were done because it was the right thing to do, but had multiple benefits. It put them at the heart of the local community; gave their staff pride, showed their customers they cared about more than just profits and made the community where they were a better place to be. These values laid the way for The Greggs Foundation, perhaps the topic Ian glowed most about when he talked, the foundation was created to alleviate hardship in local communities when people need it most. Now distributing over £3,000,000 a year through schemes such as the Greggs Breakfast Club where schools are provided with fresh bread from their nearest Greggs shop, and a grant to support start-up and ongoing costs. The average club costs just £2,000 to set up and run for a year and today 35,000 children access these clubs every day.
Where do you need to be?
Where is your nearest Greggs? Chances are you know one nearby as a big part of their strategy was to be present on high streets across the country. However, more of the traditional high street shops may not be their next strategic move; airports, trading estates, train stations and other alternative or non-standard locations are proving to be the targets for new Gregg’s shops and indeed a pattern in the market which we as Charted Surveyors are seeing throughout the county and indeed the wider UK. There has been a huge shift from the high street, but for some businesses, it’s still important to have that physical presence and Edwin Thompson for example, have recently acquired a new high street office on Stricklandgate in Kendal as part of our fast moving expansion plans and which is due to open in January.
And a final note
Whatever your business, Greggs has something to teach us, times are moving quickly and in ways many businesses aren’t prepared for. Being socially aware is more important than ever, last night the vegan sausage rolls were eaten before the traditional pasties, a sign if ever there was. Today more people than ever are improving the quality of their products to hit a wider socio-economic audience, caring for their community and staff, and listening to their customers. I think that’s pretty great but if you’ve learnt nothing else, learn this…it was the first time Ian Gregg had drunk a glass of Merlot with a steak bake!
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All photo credits to Victoria Sedgwick
