Pret targets small-town Britain with launch of slower-paced cafes

Yahoo

4 hours ago

Pret A Manger is to serve freshly made food on porcelain plates at sit-down cafes as it expands into small-town Britain.
The London-headquartered chain has announced plans to trial new cafes that feel more like restaurants than takeaway shops, with food prepared to order behind a counter.
Clare Clough, the chain's UK boss, said Pret wanted to become more of 'a destination for customers in a bit less of a rush who want a comfortable space to enjoy delicious food and spend time with family and friends'.
Though widely known for its prevalence in London and its popularity among commuters, Pret has in recent years been focusing on suburban and remote areas – forcing it to adapt its stores to appeal to older customers and families, instead of busy workers.
This month, it will open two cafes in Dundee and Maidenhead featuring more comfortable seating, a new menu and fewer fridges.
Instead of chilled baguettes, the new sites will sell more hot products such as meatball and red pepper tapenade subs and sourdough toasties.
While customers will be served food on porcelain crockery, they will still have to collect their orders from the counter in a manner similar to rivals such as Costa Coffee and Gail's.
The focus on suburbs and more remote areas comes after Pret's city centre stores struggled during the pandemic and, since then, with the rise of working from home. More than 80pc of the sites it has opened since 2023 have been outside of London.
The strategy has paid off, with Pret's revenues topping a record £1bn in 2023. A push to grow the business internationally in Europe and the US has also borne fruit after New York became its second-highest-grossing city outside London.
However, it has struggled to stay profitable and faced criticism for raising prices. The chain has also come under pressure from both cheaper rivals and more expensive competitors in its London heartlands following the pandemic, spurring it to consider how it can broaden its appeal.
Simon Stenning, hospitality industry expert and director of Future Foodservice, said: 'The competition has expanded, providing Pret customers with more options and more choice.
'And they're being challenged at the value-end of the spectrum with Greggs increasing their presence in London.
'I think it is Pret realising that, given their predicament of becoming very expensive for products which are better than standard but still fall a little short of the alternatives that are available to consumers, they need to shift the dial.
'You're not comparing a baguette from a chilled Pret cabinet with a baguette from a Greggs or a Sainsbury's cabinet now. What you're doing is comparing it to a baguette made freshly for you in a nice cafe environment or a bakery.'
In 2015, the chain trialled evening meals at its flagship site on London's Strand. Called 'Good Evening with Pret', it sold wine and beers alongside a menu of small plates. The idea was never rolled out more widely.
Last week, it emerged that JAB Holding, Pret's Luxembourg-headquartered private-equity backer, had appointed advisers to explore options for the chain, including a potential stock market float or bringing in another investor to shore up its finances.
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