Appleby Westward opens its first Greggs franchise

Appleby Westward has opened its first Greggs franchise in one of its SPAR stores.

The Greggs operation is a key feature of a £375,000 capital investment by Appleby Westward in its neighbourhood store at Bemerton Heath, Salisbury.

Dean Mason, company-owned stores director, said: “Food-to-go and especially our hot food range have always performed well in this store and this, along with the opportunity to reduce the retail trading area without compromising the core customer offer, made this store an obvious choice for our first Greggs franchise.”

The redevelopment of the store got underway in December and has seen the inclusion of new floors and ceiling, new refrigeration and upright freezers, and improvements to staff facilities. All fixtures, fittings and external signage have been updated, and new features include a Coca-Cola Ice Blast machine, Smokin’ Bean coffee station, and a f’real milkshake and smoothie dispenser.

“Our Bemerton Heath store has been a very successful community store for years but needed investment,” said Mason. “I am delighted our investment helped us not just to introduce the Greggs franchise but also to bring the rest of the store up to the high standards that are expected by our customers, colleagues, and the community we serve.

“Brand new refrigeration and freezers will reduce our energy costs by at least 30% at a time when this is so critically important to all businesses and the additional footfall to the site that the refit and Greggs will bring are expected to increase turnover by 7% in the coming year.”

Appleby Westward currently operates 140 company-owned stores throughout the region and plans to introduce more Greggs operations as part of a strategy to expand its business through complementary partnerships, which in turn will create more jobs in local communities. In Salisbury, the new Greggs operation has created eight jobs.