The UK boss of Pret A Manger has warned that the current tough economic climate in the country makes it “inevitable” that some prices will have to rise.
Clare Clough, the managing director, acknowledged that recent years have been “challenging” for the high street staple, but emphasised that the brand’s top priority is to explore other ways to manage escalating costs, as reported by City AM.
Clough also pointed out that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to raise the National Minimum Wage is having a “significant impact” on the chain.
However, despite the evident financial strain Pret A Manger and other UK businesses are under, she assured that the chain would never cut costs by reducing portion sizes or compromising on ingredient quality.
‘We win or lose by our customers’ choice to shop with us or not’
In an upcoming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, Clough stated: “It’s been a challenging few years – it’s no secret that the global pandemic hit us quite hard.”
She continued: “Being very city centric and transport locations, it was a big impact to the business. But you couldn’t go round it. You had to go through it.”
Reflecting on leading the business through the post-pandemic period, she said: “So being part of leading the business out of the post-pandemic period has been challenging, but it has actually been very rewarding as well.”
She expressed pride in the company’s resilience, saying: “I feel very proud of the shape that the business is in today and the way that we’ve recovered after such a near-death crisis.”
Clough concluded by highlighting the company’s customer-centric approach: “We’re trying to put the customer at the centre of all of our decision making.
“We win or lose by our customers’ choice to shop with us or not. So we just have to remain mindful of that and take measured decisions.”
‘Inevitable’ that Pret A Manger prices will rise
Discussing current market inflation, the UK chief of Pret A Manger mentioned that “from time to time we have to pass some of that on”. Nevertheless, she insisted that “as far as possible, we try and find ways to mitigate that”.
Concerning the inevitability of transferring some increased costs to consumers, the Managing Director shared: “We have inflation in every part of the market. It sometimes does become inevitable.”
However, she emphasised the company’s efforts to reduce the impact: “But our responsibility first is to look at what we can do to offset that or mitigate as we can and our teams have been working really hard to do that.”
The MD further explained the effect of the National Minimum Wage increase on a significant employer such as Pret: “The National Minimum Wage increase has a significant impact on a business that employs thousands of people.”
She added that despite this, they aim to minimise any repercussions on pricing: “But we want to make sure that we find ways to work around that as far as possible and from time to time with inflation in wages and ingredients, does that result in some price increases? Yes it does.”
Prioritising the customer experience, the MD said: “But our first priority is to try and avoid that being passed on directly to the customers.”
She highlighted how the company collaborates with suppliers to maintain efficiency without sacrificing quality: “We work really hard with our suppliers to look at ways that we can drive efficiencies into our supply chain.”
Asserting Pret’s commitment to consistency and quality, she proudly claimed: “For example, I’m really proud to say we never do that by reducing portion sizes or quality of ingredients.
“But we do look at ways to be more efficient together and we also take the advantage of the growth in the new openings that we have to drive those efficiencies into the supply chain.”
