UK's Pret takes coffee subscription service to US and France

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) - British sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger will launch its monthly coffee subscription service in the United States and France this year after the scheme proved a success in its home market, it said on Thursday.

The group, commonly referred to as Pret, launched its coffee subscription service in September 2020, trying out a new business model to get it through the COVID-19 pandemic which hammered its sales.

In April it rebranded the service as "Club Pret". For 30 pounds ($38) a month subscribers can get up to five barista-prepared drinks per day, and a 10% discount on all food, snacks and any additional drinks they purchase. The discount is being increased to 20% from Sept. 5.

Pret, owned by investment firm JAB and founder Sinclair Beecham, said it would expand the service to the U.S., where it trades from 58 stores, next month, followed by France, where it trades from 48, in November and all its other markets from 2024.

A spokesperson for Pret said the price of the subscription service in the U.S. and France had not yet been confirmed.

Pret said the rebranded subscription service in the UK had seen 17.8 million redemptions in its first three months, up 31% year-on-year.

Last month, the group, which trades from over 600 shops, reported a 20% jump in first-half sales and said its plan to more than double the size of its business by 2026 was progressing well. It returned to profit in 2022.

($1 = 0.7901 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)