Greggs is removing self-service fridges in stores targeted by shoplifters, placing drinks and sandwiches behind counters.
The food-on-the-go retailer, which today (20 May) reported a 7.4% rise in sales to £748m, has axed self-serve fridges in at least five sites due to the rise in retail crime.
Locations affected include its Whitechapel store, with the measure also understood to be rolling out to its Ilford and Peckham sites.
“This is one of a number of initiatives we are trialling across a handful of shops which are exposed to higher levels of antisocial behaviour,” said a Greggs spokeswoman.
“Customers can expect to see our full range of great-value and tasty Greggs favourites available from behind the counter,” she added. “The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority.”
Greggs CEO Roisin Currie said the high street retailer was “doing more and more” to keep colleagues safe, including working with other local retailers and local police.
“This has really helped us and makes sure that the police have got the data they need to actually take action and apprehend and arrest people.”
Currie said the latest trial of putting products behind counters would allow the retailer to see if it “actually is the right way to make sure that we get the balance of keeping our colleagues safe and having a nice trading environment for our customers to shop”.
The trial follows an investigation by The Sun, which found that shoplifters were targeting some Greggs stores as often as every 20 minutes. The retailer has already trialled a handful of features in some stores, including high-security doors, panic alarms and body-worn cameras.
It comes as Greggs’ sales hit £784m in the first 20 weeks of 2025, with like-for-like sales edging up by 2.9%.
The food-to-go giant noted that this positive trading was boosted by product innovtion and the lauch of its made-to-order range last year, which has now rolled out to over 300 shops nationwide.
The retailer added that despite “a challenging market”, the board’s expectations for the full year remain unchanged.
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