At one stage it looked like he might be stuck there forever, but Greggs CEO Ken McMeikan finally got the green light to leave for wholesaler Brakes this morning. McMeikan, who will depart on 8 March, was a popular leader. But there is no sentiment in the baking business. The king is dead, long live the king! Enter Roger Whiteside, currently CEO at Punch Taverns.
No stranger to the food and drink business, Whiteside spent 20 years at M&S, winding up as head of food. He was then one of the founding fathers of Ocado, before moving onto Thresher. He joined the Greggs board as a non-executive director in 2008, so he’s spent five years getting to know the business and the team.
That will stand him in good stead as he looks to take Greggs forward, starting 4 February. He’s got a few challenges to deal with, after all.
Like for like sales at Greggs are down. Planned store expansion is down as Greggs reinvests and refurbishes its core estate. And the rain - the bane of McMeikan’s life - has turned to snow. Meanwhile McMeikan warned a fortnight ago that rising commodity prices would result in inevitable price hikes of pastry products.
But if you look at the bigger picture, Greggs is on the up. New fascias are opening all the time. Its ever-expanding wholesale range is flying out of Iceland freezers and new routes to market, like service stations and industrial estates, are proving popular.
Plus - as Whiteside alluded to this morning - Greggs has never been more loved. After it found itself at the centre of the pasty tax storm, and Greggs sausage rolls became flaky weapons to beat George Osborne around the head with, the UK took Greggs to its heart.
Perhaps more importantly, the city has too. Whiteside got a boost this morning when the Greggs share price jumped up at the news of his appointment. Then it dropped back down, before settling into a steady climb throughout this afternoon. It’s currently up, sitting pretty at a six week high. That’s a positive start. Long may it continue. And all the best to Ken McMeikan. Greggs loss is Brakes gain.
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