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Pret a Manger is reportedly set to trial opening stores located inside Tesco supermarkets in a bid to attract a new type of customer to its offering.
According to The Times, the cafe chain will open its first in-store site at the Tesco Superstore in Kensington in June, with another four sites to open later in the summer. It is thought that some of the remaining stores will appear outside of the nation’s capital.
The new Tesco sites will be operated as concessions by Pret and will serve food prepared in an on-site kitchen as well as a selection of coffees and teas.
The news comes after Pret recently revealed a partnership with Tesco that will see its croissants and granola’s stocked on the supermarket’s shelves.
According to the paper, Pret CEO Pano Christou said: “Instead of Pret following the skyscrapers, for us it’s about bringing Pret to the people. This could be an opportunity for us to do that, dependent on how the test goes.”
The company, which was acquired by JAB holdings in a £1.5bn deal in 2018, has been hit hard by the pandemic, and despite an £185m cash injection from its owners, was forced to close 27 of its stores and reduce its workforce by 3,400 this past year.
