Greggs keeps tight-lipped over possibility of new Highland bakeries
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MAJOR bakery chain Greggs has not ruled out opening further outlets in the Highlands after it announced that it is on course to create 150 new stores this year, and is actively targetting "tourist" areas.
The famous bakery, which is ubiquitous in many parts of the UK, has virtually no presence in the Highlands despite operating more than 2300 sites – and only opened its first outlet in the Highland Council area in Inverness in February last year.
However, news last week that it is on course to open 150 new stores this year, has raised the possibility that further Highland shops might be in the pipeline.
And with it openly admitting that its bid to expand to 3000 outlets in the future includes a plan targetting "tourists and motorists" at the likes of forecourts and service stations – it has fuelled speculation that routes and communities that lead into the famous tourist destinations of Scotland's north may be among them.
At the moment a lot of the emphasis seems to be a bid to expand into Cornwall, and the company – which was founded in Tyneside in the 1930s – has named a number of new locations in south-west England.
But many of the 150 new outlets have not been named, and its confirmation in April of plans to open a site in Forres in Moray, means it definitely has eyes on Scotland's north.
And when specifically asked if its expansion into tourist areas meant that any of the other new stores might be set within the Highland Council area, Greggs dodged the question entirely and did not rule it out.
Responding to the Courier, a Greggs spokesperson said: “Greggs is always looking into new shop locations, while we are unable to confirm anything at the moment, we will be sure to share any information in due course.”
