Specialist
Former operations leader at Pret a Manger, former director at Eat and C-level executive at Pure
Agenda
- Pret A Manger’s strategic positioning within the UK food-to-go landscape
- Coronavirus demand implications and recovery outlook
- Medium-term outlook
Questions
1.
Could you outline the UK food-to-go market prior to coronavirus, touching on the market size, its growth dynamics and the trends shaping the market?
2.
You mentioned like-for-like growth as well as expansion. How aggressive were players expanding through their store network?
3.
You mentioned the cost to open Pret vs Greggs. Is that really just the kitchen, the back and the complexities that come with making the food onsite that drives that cost?
4.
How should we assess food and beverage for the group and where is the profit coming from across the two categories? What do you think is more important?
5.
How successful was Pret on converting footfall that would come in for coffee to buy a food item? Do you think it was more successful than some competitors?
6.
Do you think the focus on breakfast is bigger than other mealtime categories?
7.
What portion of sales do you think breakfast provides for Pret, if you can give a range? Has that been increasing or decreasing?
8.
How has Pret been emerging from the coronavirus pandemic? Could you highlight some of the negative effects the pandemic would have had on Pret, on store closures or top line?
9.
Management has stated that it is considering closing down about 40 stores. Do you think this is realistic, or might this be conservative?
10.
You mentioned the supply chain as one factor which is in play in the impact from Brexit. Where do you think Brexit and coronavirus could be affecting the supply chain?
11.
How significant are the costs to run a store at current levels?
12.
What are the biggest cost buckets for Pret? Could you highlight where most of the costs are sitting? You mentioned it needs to do a lot to cut back on these costs. What do you think it can do, and how do you think the cost base is really shaping up for Pret?
13.
You mentioned rent and rates are the big fixed costs. What do you think the general split is between fixed costs and variable costs in the cost base?
14.
How should we assess the competitive landscape as we move out of the pandemic? Do you think Pret is in a good position to grow its share, compared to Itsu, Greggs and Leon, or do you think it will come out of it weaker, given its footprint is in London?
15.
You mentioned Greggs does trade at a bit of a discount on its products, and Pret is at more of a premium. Do you think Pret’s product quality is deservant of its higher price, relative to Greggs? Do you expect prices to remain quite robust for Pret into the next 12 months?
16.
You mentioned the GBP 20 coffee subscription. Do you think that will do well for Pret in driving top-line growth, driving volume and footfall in the stores?
17.
Do you think Pret will target more online sales and more e-commerce?
18.
Where do you think food-to-go and Pret specifically can drive growth? What should we be monitoring as levers that it might be pulling to drive growth? Is it changing its menu and innovation that way?
19.
What further risks would you highlight for the food-to-go sector and Pret? You mentioned Brexit is a big one on the supply chain side.
