With more Covid-19 restrictions beginning to bite into every aspect of daily life, it comes as no surprise that fast food outlet Pret has just announced more store closures and redundancies in the capital. This comes on the back of an announcement in the summer of the plans to shed 3,000 jobs and close as many as 30 stores across the UK, which included 10 in London.
A spokesperson for Pret stated that the decision to make further cuts to staff and the closure of stores comes as a result of the impact that the increase of Coronavirus infection rates since September has had on their business. However, not all stores will be affected by these latest cutbacks, but they estimate that at least 400 jobs will have to go in the coming weeks.
Changes To Their Business Model
Pret’s business model has always been to rely on the commuter and office traffic that has now been impacted by the number of people now having to work from home.
Footfall in their stores has fallen dramatically since the beginning of April when the first national lockdown was implemented by the government, and now the prospect of regional lockdowns is another blow.
Now the company has been trying to implement changes to its business plan, which includes initiatives such as offering home delivery services via JustEat and Deliveroo, whilst also offering a monthly coffee subscription service, and making their coffee available to purchase via Amazon.
Teaming Up With Moto
Recently, Pret announced that they were teaming up with Moto, the motorway services operator, with the first Pret store set to open a Cherwell Valley services sometime in December, with another store at Rugby services set for early 2021.
At the moment, Pret currently has a store at the South Mimms services currently operated by Welcome Break, although two sites at service stations on the M25 and M56 owned by Roadchef have recently closed.
It is hoped that this expansion into the motorway services sector can boost Pret’s profits at a time when their city-based stores are feeling the full force of the Coronavirus pandemic.