FT172048 Monika Asthana

FT172066 Priyatam
Group 8
Varanasi
FT172086 Souseelya Renati
FT172087 Sravana Reddy K
Sravanthi
FT172088
Boggaram
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 2
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS......................................................................2
What makes Pret unique?................................................................................... 2
Food................................................................................................................ 2
Customer service............................................................................................ 2
Shop Locations................................................................................................ 2
Work culture....................................................................................................... 2
Hiring............................................................................................................... 2
Training............................................................................................................ 2
Buddy Days..................................................................................................... 2
Employee Empowerment.................................................................................3
Rewards and Recognition................................................................................... 3
Mystery Shopper Program............................................................................... 3
Shop Manager Bonuses...................................................................................3
Pret Parties...................................................................................................... 3
CUSTOMER ANALYSIS............................................................................................. 3
Minimum throughput time..................................................................................3
Food quality........................................................................................................ 3
Friendly Employees............................................................................................. 3
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS......................................................................................... 3
RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................. 4
Benefits.............................................................................................................. 4
Problems............................................................................................................. 4
Suggestions........................................................................................................ 4

1
INTRODUCTION
Pret A Manger, fondly called Pret by its customers means Ready to Eat. In
French. They mainly provide pre-packaged sandwiches without any artificial
flavours, colour and preservatives. Apart from this, they also provide salads,
soups, pastries, coffee etc. It was founded by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair
Beecham in 1986, with presence in Britain, U.S., Hong Kong and Paris. It runs on
the founders core values of natural food, and fast, friendly service. They had 282
shops in United States, Britain, Hong Kong and about 163 shops in London alone.
They were generating revenues of 281 million pounds. The number of shops in
the company is growing at 15% every year and they are facing certain
challenges in doing so due to limited space availability, the issues with the twin
concept and the steady competition from chains such as EAT, Starbucks, Tesco
etc.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

What makes Pret unique?
Food
Commitment towards providing food which is fresh, contains natural ingredients
and such that there is no compromise on taste. They made sandwiches
throughout the day as per their fixed and variable production schedules. They
also prevented wastage of food, by donating the leftover food to local food
banks.

Customer service
Quality, speed and genuineness is their key to success. Employees are known for
building and maintaining a good rapport with the customers in their own unique
way and they are also trained to minimise the throughput time. The goal was to
service every customer within 60 seconds of entering the queue.

Shop Locations
One of the main advantages is the easy accessibility of the shops due to their
prime locations. They opened shops quite close to each other as they realised
workers didnt want to walk too far. Luckily this didnt cannibalise each others
shops.

Work culture
Hiring
The most vital factor for the company was to hire those who were passionate,
spoke clearly, and had a good team spirit. The final recruitment was done
existing Pret employees rather than the management by voting for the candidate
after he goes through an An Experience Day.

Training
Each employee was given a workbook, and were asked to complete a training
course for 3 months. They had to take up a Big Scary Quiz once the training
was done and by passing the test, they could earn the Team Member Star.
They also provide a Shooting Star voucher for a helpful co-worker.

2
Buddy Days
Each employee, immaterial of his rank in the organization, was assigned a
buddy shop and had to work a full day at least once in six months.

Employee Empowerment
The Shop Managers were given the freedom to decide the menu range, the
number of employees in each shift, sandwiches to be made in fixed and variable
production schedules and had a say in the salary raises. Pret believed
empowerment was directly proportional to the engagement of the employees,
thereby leading the business forward.

Rewards and Recognition

Mystery Shopper Program
In this programme every week, a mystery shopper judged the performance of a
particular Pret shop for its style, selection, speed and service. Winning this would
hike their hourly wage by an additional pound for a week. They found a
correlation between the performance in Mystery Shopper Program and customer
likeability. They also provided the Outstanding Cards to the best employee as
well in terms of helpfulness and charm.

Shop Manager Bonuses

A quarterly bonus was given to the Shop Managers based on year-on-year
growth, mystery shopper scores, shop margins and shop inspections. Irrespective
of the highest performer or the lowest performer, every Manager received some
kind of bonus.

Pret Parties
Known for its culture of having fun, they held many social parties for the
employees every month and two massive parties each year.

CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
The main customers were those wanted just a quick bite, without compromising
on their health. At the same time, they also wanted the food joint to be within
walking distance.

Minimum throughput time

The customers had to wait for a very less time in the queue thank to large
number of billing counters and they were usually served within 60 seconds of
standing in the queue.

Food quality
They believed in freshly made food right at the kitchen and ensured the
customers were provided with fresh products, consisting of natural ingredients,
satisfying the taste buds.

Friendly Employees
Employees had built good relations with the customers in their own unique way
and this made the entire experience very pleasant for the customers.

3
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Its competitors were Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose market, Marks and Spencers
Simply Food, and coffee shops such as Starbucks and pre-packaged sandwich
shops like EAT.

EAT had made use of a centralised facility to deliver the sandwiches in

trucks. This helped them reduce food preparation costs. However Pret
utilised in-shop kitchens to maximise freshness and minimise stock-outs.
The psychological advantage Pret had over customers that the food was
made right at the shop was second to none. Many customers adored this
very fact of freshness.
The centralised kitchen facility provided a benefit to EAT, which was cost-
cutting by eradication of unnecessary equipment, however despite this
reduction, its margin was 3.3% in 2010 as opposed to Prets margins of
11.4%

RECOMMENDATIONS
Since expansion is evident, the only concern here will be on the quality of the
food. The concept of Twin Shops has both advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits
Availability of shops in multiple and great locations even though they dont
have enough space for a kitchen.
Opportunity of growth in the leadership pipeline as Managers oversaw two
shops and hence a number of responsibilities.

Problems
The customers thought that they were being misled as the food was made
off-site.
Elimination of the connection of employees with the food.
Lack of availability of all products mentioned in the menu as the kitchen
was not in the same premise.
Since the kitchens were in the Parent shop, it reduced the Just in Time
Nature of production.
There is a Performance GAP and Communication GAP. In-Shop
preparation promise failed when they went for the twin shop culture.
Trolley drops made it difficult to maintain a full selection of sandwiches.

Suggestions
Since expansion is a priority and their main goal, they should go with the
Twin shops concept.
Assure the customers that the sandwiches are of the same quality as
promised, whether it comes from the Twin shop or the parent shop.
They should communicate clearly that the sandwiches have been made in
the Parent Shop as few customers think they are being misled.
The organization should ensure that they do not deter from their core
value and keep up the level of services provided.

4
 Expand into countries which are fast developing and have double income
families. They should adapt their menu as per the tastes of that particular
country.
Introducing new/more ready to eat food products in their existing stores
might attract customers. For example, since Britain is known for its tea
loving people, they could add a few varieties to tea to their menu.