Pret A Manger Aims For A Bigger Bite Of The U.S. Sandwich Market

U.K.-based fresh sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger is set to triple its U.S. footprint over the next five years in a new joint venture initiative with Dallas International.

With the Dallas International deal, which is already a franchise partner, it will take control of 52 Pret A Manger stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. All told, Pret A Manger currently operates 58 U.S. stores, 40 of which are in Manhattan, plus eight shops in Canada in a partnership with A&W Canada.

Pret, which is owned by investment firm JAB and founder Sinclair Beecham, said that the agreement is expected to be completed in February 2024 and will grant Dallas International exclusive rights to open new outlets in those markets.

Dallas also currently has eight shops in the U.K. with another six opening in early 2024, one in New York’s Hudson Yards, and plans to open four shops in California in the first half of 2024.

Following completion, Dallas will operate over 60 shops across both countries and more than 100 outlets by 2026 through a new business called Empire JointStar Inc., though the joint venture does not extend to existing franchise shops in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

Pret A Manger U.S. Expansion

Pret A Manger started collaborating with Dallas Holdings in the U.K. in November 2021 before entering a U.S. partnership in December 2022 to expand its presence, notably in New York and California.

Mirroring its strategy in Britain, as well as diversifying Pret’s U.S. footprint to suburban locations and travel hubs, Dallas International will also carry out a refurbishing program and debut the chain’s first drive-thru outlets.

“We have huge ambitions for Pret to become a more globally recognized brand that is working in partnership with our franchisees to unlock significant growth in new markets. This approach has driven significant growth in Europe and Asia and enabled Pret to track ahead of its mid-term global growth target to double the size of the business by 2026,” said Pret A Manger CEO Pano Christou.

He added that the business could expand further in the U.S. and reach up to 300 stores after seeing U.S. growth boosted after the summer 2023 launch of its Club Pret F&B subscription and app-based Pret Pick-Up program. The chain reported a 10% growth in U.S. sales for the five months to Sept. 30, 2023.

Pret Ownership Plans

Pret said that its remaining shops in the U.S. and Canada will continue to be a mix of equity-owned and other franchise-agreed shops. It added that it may extend further to new states under separate franchise partnerships, with Pret A Manger USA holding ownership of the Pret brand, marketing, food and logistics.

Pret also is set to reopen its Chicago market “in the coming days,” and is looking into further growth and franchise opportunities in Texas, Florida, and Washington state.

Internationally, Pret A Manger expanded into Northern Ireland in August and hopes to have 20 stores across the country and the Republic of Ireland over the next decade with franchise partner Carebrook Partnership.

Globally, Pret operates more than 600 shops with 9,900 team members in 15 international markets, including the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Hong Kong, France, Dubai, Kuwait, India, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, Singapore, Germany, Canada and Italy.