Pret a Manger will increase the price of its subscription by a fifth, but add a 10% discount to food and drinks as well as a free drink offer starting Wednesday. The sandwich chain is warning that “inflationary challenges” remain.
Pano Christou said Pret a Manager may need to increase wages again this year despite a 19% hike in the last year due to stiff competition among workers.
He said, “We will continue looking after our people during this challenging time.” Christou said Pret didn’t have any staffing problems because its pay is “more attractive” than the competition.
Pret’s wholesale milk price has risen by 16%. The coffee price is up 48%, and the crisps are up 125%. The company has discontinued some products such as the salmon and mango salad because a 40% increase in salmon’s price was too much to bear for consumers. A latte’s price has risen just over 12% in the last year. It went from £2.95 up to £3.30.
Christou stated that we are currently facing an inflationary crisis. “We don’t pass everything on, and we aren’t seeing the same kind of percentage of inflation that the supermarkets.”
Pret’s subscription, which launched for the first time in September 2020 will now be called Club Pret. It will cost £30 per month instead of £25. The subscription will now include five barista prepared drinks per day, the same as the current offer. It also includes 10% off all other products in Pret stores except for some service stations.
The offer includes coffee, teas, hot chocolates and iced beverages. This month, Pret has stopped producing smoothies and frappes that were included in the subscription. A new range of shakes, which will launch in July, will replace the previous ones.
Pret has 439 shops in the UK, and almost 8,000 employees. Its subscription service is used 1.25m time a week, up 11% from last year.
Pret’s sales are still below their pre-pandemic level, and stores are particularly quiet on weekends. Christou explained that recent strikes on public transport, at schools and in the workplace had affected sales because they disrupted people’s plans. Customers are also being influenced by the cost of living crisis to limit their purchases and make more careful food choices.