Pret turned empty city shops into a subscription and expansion engine

Pret's pre-pandemic model depended heavily on office workers in dense city centres. When that traffic disappeared, the company had to rebuild demand rather than wait for the old commute to return.

The pivot paired a coffee subscription, later expanded into Club Pret, with app usage, delivery, regional UK openings and international franchising. The subscription created repeat occasions while franchising moved growth outside central London.

By H1 2023, sales were £429.9 million, up 20.2%, and Pret had returned to annual operating profit in 2022. In 2024 it said 2023 system sales reached £1.1 billion, meeting its 2021 doubling target three years ahead of schedule.

Global system sales reached £1.1B in 2023, up 22%, hitting its five-year doubling target three years early.

The old lunchtime-office habit was too concentrated in London and transport hubs.

A subscription made visits habitual even when work patterns became hybrid.

International franchising let Pret grow without relying only on company-owned city-centre shops.

Digital ordering gave management a direct demand lever instead of depending solely on passing traffic.

A store network built for one commute pattern can recover by changing frequency, channels and geography at the same time.

Pret kept pushing outside London and the UK. By H1 2024, franchising represented about a third of global sales, Pret was open in 18 markets, and management said 87% of new openings since January 2023 were outside London.