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The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

wired.co.uk

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Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#81

Post by fh973 »

lordnacho wrote: post #10

My guess from chatting to some of the people in the stores is there's gonna be a bloodbath. Your average food shop is running on what kind of margin? Maybe 20% at best, 15% more commonly? I chatted with a guy who says his business is down 90%. The guy at Subway said something similar. Before the apocalypse, the business made sense because of the sheer number of people walking by. You could pay for the food, the labou…

During my last London trip, I had the impression that they mostly employ young people from all over Europe. I suspect they will all be gone end of year.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#82

Post by Chris_Newton »

barry-cotter wrote: post #25
throrthaway wrote: post #17

Just in case people don't know, although the name sounds French I've literally never seen one in France. I guess it's like Mexico's Taco Bell or something

Up until 20 years ago a foreign language was compulsory in UK secondary schools through the equivalent of US high school. The default foreign language that virtually every school would teach was French, with other languages usually being a nice to have. There’d be the occasional school that taught German but not French. Up until very recently it could be assumed that virtually every educated Briton could read French…

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, speaking multiple languages to a useful level is completely normal. They really are much better at that than we (Brits) are, and the decision to drop the language requirements we did have in schools has always seemed like a backward step to me.

I doubt Pret’s name really makes much difference to who it appeals to, though. It’s a well-known brand, but if you’re selling sandwiches and coffees for those prices as an everyday thing, you are clearly aiming for a certain type of customer anyway.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#84

Post by tluyben2 »

switch11 wrote: post #67

Pret a Manger 1) Amazing food 2) Very nicely set up 3) Just read the blogs etc. that London women write about Pret a Manger. In their minds it's the kind of place where they can get good food and also find 'the man of their dreams' 4) very little real competition 5) most people have a decent amount of disposable income. You can eat utter rubbish at a fast food joint, or you can terrible tasting food from a convenienc…

1) matter of taste I would say; I find it quite horrible. Miles removed from something like Le Pain Quotidien, but yeah matter of taste. When working for a client in London I would rather skip lunch vs eat the plastic Pret serves. Or, you know, actually go to the pub and have a pint.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#85

Post by Lio »

kps wrote: post #60

Ah, if HN readers are fascinated by Pret a Manger, wait 'til they hear about J Lyons tea shops.

Don’t knock Lyons, they made the world’s first business computer[1] for those tea shops ...and they sell crumpets.

This would be like finding out Pret had a side gig in quantum computing ...and crumpets.

1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer)

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#86

Post by lowbloodsugar »

Chris_Newton wrote: post #80
lordnacho wrote: post #10

My guess from chatting to some of the people in the stores is there's gonna be a bloodbath. Your average food shop is running on what kind of margin? Maybe 20% at best, 15% more commonly? I chatted with a guy who says his business is down 90%. The guy at Subway said something similar. Before the apocalypse, the business made sense because of the sheer number of people walking by. You could pay for the food, the labou…

Now that WFH has been "discovered" it's doubtful. I mean if everyone works from home just one day a week, that's 20% fewer sandwiches they will need to buy. I’m not so sure. Just because you’re working from home, that doesn’t mean you want to spend a significant amount of time shopping for and preparing lots of different things for your lunches. If you were OK with that, you could easily have taken a packed lunch to…

I used to eat out every day, because who wants to carry food to work along with a laptop, and then brave the kitchen microwave etiquette. Now I'm home I can just go down to the kitchen and pop something in the microwave, or make a delicious ad-hoc cheese plate with prosciutto and figs (literally yesterday), depending on my mood.

We're trying to support our local pub by showing up for social distance weekend brunches, ordering booze and food and massively overtipping, but downtown is a wasteland.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#87

Post by princeb »

crazygringo wrote: post #19

As an American, I've always been so confused by Pret's sandwiches. Specifically, how they're like 95% bread. Seriously. You get their "famous ham and cheese" and it's a mini baguette with like a single layer of ham and cheese. Like the ham and cheese is a condiment, rather than filling. It's a stretch to call what they sell "sandwiches". It's closer to just flavored bread. And remember -- it's not just sugar that inc…

i used to eat at pret a lot when i used to work in the City.

the egg and spinach pot was my go to lunch most days. it was just nice for a one person meal. the sandwiches were more than enough for me.

when i lived in chicago i didn't eat much either, but also that could just be the constraints of being an impoverished student.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#88

Post by unishark »

ggm wrote: post #54
crazygringo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well sure, but I'm making the point that a standard American sandwich simply isn't excessive. That the notion/caricature of a regular American lunch sandwich being unhealthily large is simply incorrect. Of course you can get some mega-cheese melt if you want, just like you can get a triple quarter pounder if you want. But I don't see anybody who sees those as examples of a normal portion. Within America they're seen…

I think this is one of those things we're going to disagree about. Within the America I see as a conference attendee seeking lunch outside of meetings in the food malls, portion control is out of control. Overall, yes, you can eat healthy anywhere. There is a "value" proposition which drives a lot of people to order bigger than they need. The same "value" proposition drives food outlets to compete on size for the sam…

Technically sandwiches are often sold at a loss and are just there to sell customers on the high-margin items like drinks and fries. So you're partly right but it doesn't really make for a motivation to increase sandwich size without limit. They'd still rather sell smaller sandwiches.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#89

Post by 205guy »

regnamehtnidog wrote: post #21
throrthaway wrote: post #17

Just in case people don't know, although the name sounds French I've literally never seen one in France. I guess it's like Mexico's Taco Bell or something

The article mentions that it's an English chain. The name is a pun on the fashion term "prêt-à-porter" which is often used in English. See https://www.net-a-porter.com/ for another example of a brand that riffs on the term without being French.

I wanted to say the same. I will add that because "prêt-à-porter" is a fashion term, it would be somewhat familiar to London city office workers, especially the upscale demographic they target with their prices and marketing.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#90

Post by 082349872349872 »

0max wrote: post #78
scubbo wrote: post #58

I can honestly say that, aside from "good pubs", Pret a Manger is the thing I miss most having moved from London to San Francisco. There's just nothing like it for quick, easy, good coffee-and-premade-food (or I just haven't found it - in which case, please consider this a masterful invocation of Cunningham's Law).

I think SF is more of a burrito and onigiri type of town. Some of my favorite grab and go spots are Asian grocery stores.

Burritos make an excellent substitute for Döner.

Onigiri look like what happens to picnic loaves when they reach islands at the other end of eurasia?

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