‘Prêt-à-Manger’: the fast-food of all Londoners?

As we were in London two weeks ago, we were both very surprised to find a Prêt-à-Manger on every street corner. ‘Pret’, as Londoners call it, was founded in the late 1980s by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham. Its two creators met at the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster). They opened the first Prêt-à-Manger fast-food in Victoria Station. Although they began with a loan of just £17,000, the ‘middle-class’ fast-food has always made sure to offer fresh (daily re-supply and food preparation), natural (no additive or chemicals substances) and healthy food.

Beecham [left] and Metcalfe launch in their first Pret in Victoria 22 years ago (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/2784937/Pret-a-Manger-founders-sitting-pretty.html)

The desire to represent and be accessible to all Londoners…

With nearly 300 Pret shops in London, the chain has quickly invaded the British capital. The Guardian (April 14th, 2015) states that “Pret is one of the capital’s most visible businesses, almost as entrenched in the cityscape as a red letterbox or the lollipop tube sign”. Pret has established itself as a powerful symbol of London's contemporary identity, just like Starbucks or McDonalds did in the US. The chain is now a permanent part of London's urban landscape. The satirical Daily Mash (5th January 2017) ironically stated that “every building in London are to be a Pret-A-Manger by 2020”. Interestingly enough the company plans to make a Pret accessible to every single Londoner across the city. Pret's spokesman even stated with a touch of disdain: "Some Londoners are living more than four minutes from a Pret, which is shocking and unacceptable. Nobody should have to rely on food they make themselves with their greasy, untrained fingers".

Main Pret in London (Google Maps)

… But in reality targeting an urban elite

The brand targets in reality from the very beginning upper middle-class urban professionals, with little time on their hands. The price of foodstuffs per unit ranges from $3.89 to $6.99 and the type of food served - healthy salads and fancy sandwiches – attracts a wealthy clientele. Pret shops are thus successful in ‘offices’, trendy and gentrified areas. The firm’s ability to adapt its offer and meet the demands of high-skilled workers in global cities, enabled the company to establish itself around the world in NYC, Paris, Shanghai and Hong Kong for example. Pret represents a particular London’s identity, the one of upper middle-classes, excluding the most destitute.

The establishment of Pret: an agent and indicator of gentrification in deprived areas of London

Under the mandate of the conservative Boris Johnson, the Greater London Authority (London’s City Hall) was blamed for endorsing the gentrification of deprived or abandoned neighbourhoods. The establishment of hipster’s shops - like Pret – is often perceived by modest inhabitants as a gentrification of their neighbourhood. Contestations emerged against the establishment of a Pret in Wood Green, a traditional industrial district in the Northern part of London. Inhabitants claimed to be unable to afford such food and feared Pret’s arrival to announce a stream of affluent populations. A similar scenario happened in 2015, when the first Pret arrived in the Brick Lane of Shoreditch. Local people felt dispossessed of their native neighbourhood. Ironically, the wealthy newcomers also deplored both the gentrification and mainstreaming processes that had been happening for a decade. Pret thus appears as a significant agent and indicator of gentrification in London.

Pret in Shoreditch

(https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/pret-s-arrival-in-brick-lane-sparks-angry-chain-reaction-from-shoreditch-hipsters-10396112.html)

Who is London for?

Having this in mind, we should eventually broaden the perspective. Does the Prêt-à-Manger empire in London reflect the desire to keep the poor away from the city centre, in favour of a British capital for the privileged populations only? As Harvey could have said: who has the ‘right to the city’, meaning who can access and shape London city? The famous neo-Marxist geographer accurately grasped the causes and consequences of the gentrification processes in global cities: « Shopping malls, multiplexes and box stores proliferate », « as do fast-food and artisanal market-places ». He quotes the urban sociologist Sharon Zukin arguing that the desire of artists, hipsters, and even community gardeners to find an authentic urban experience has often provided a starting point for the revitalization of forgotten parts of the city. In doing so, however, they made the areas more hospitable to intensive capital investment, paving the way for the gentrification, commodification and homogenization through chain stores (like Pret for example). Destitute people are gradually dispossessed of their native neighbourhoods by wealthier populations, as it is happening in Green Wood, Shoreditch and many other areas of London. By targeting a well-off clientele, Pret promotes a poorly inclusive London, pushing the most modest populations in the outskirts of the city.

The election of the Sadiq Khan at the head of the municipality in 2016 could change the situation. The Labor mayor plans the construction of affordable housing for the lower middle-classes. If these measures are carried out, London could become more inclusive, allowing all residents to find accommodation, move around easily and participate freely in the political life of their neighbourhood.

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References:

On Prêt’s founders:

• « Mine's a McLatte ». The Guardian. Thu 1st Feb 2001

On Prêt’s concept, functionning and expansion:

• Favell, Adrian. Eurostars and Eurocities: free movement and mobility in an integrating Europe. Blackwell Pub. 2008.

• Floor, Ko. Branding a store: how to build successful retail brands in a changing marketplace. Kogan Page. 2006.

• Prêt’s website : https://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/find-a-pret

• Adrian Slywotzky. « Building A Steep Trajectory Of Improvement: The Pret A Manger Case ». Fast Company. 10.10.11

• « Every building in London to be a Pret A Manger by 2020 ». The Daily Mash. 5th January 2017

• Kate Hardy and Tom Gillespie. « London’s exodus offers a stark warning to other UK cities: your culture is at risk ». The Guardian. Fri 4th Aug 2017

On Prêt’s establishment & gentrification:

• Francesca Gillett. « Residents hit out at 'middle class' Pret a Manger in Wood Green shopping centre... but others are delighted ». Evening Standard. Monday 19 September 2016

• Mark Blunden. « Pret A Manger’s arrival in Brick Lane sparks angry chain reaction from Shoreditch hipsters ». Evening Standard. Friday 17 July 2015

Some controversies on Prêt’s food:

• Glen Kleogh. « 'Fresh' Pret baguettes are up to a YEAR old: Sandwich chain boasts that it bakes bread in-store - but baguettes are churned out in factory on French industrial estate before being shipped to the UK ». Daily Mail. 8th October 2018.

Theoretical insights on the right to the city & gentrification:

• Harvey, David. Rebel cities: from the right to the city to the urban revolution. Verso, 2012.

• Zukin, Sharon. Naked city: the death and life of authentic urban places. Oxford University Press, 2010.

More about Sadiq Khan’s policies: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/housing-and-land