Ambani entered the coffee business to compete with Starbucks: ‘Pret a Manger’ first store opened in Mumbai, will open 100 outlets in India in 5 years.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Brands launched its first ‘Pret a Manger’ sandwich and coffee outlet to take on Tata Group’s Starbucks. ‘Pret a Manger’ is a British sandwich and coffee chain, which Mukesh Ambani has now brought to India. The first store of ‘Pret a Manger’ in India has been opened at Maker Maxity in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai.
Reliance Brands Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, plans to open a total of 10 ‘Pret a Manger’ stores in India this year in collaboration with the British sandwich and coffee chain. Reliance Brands and the British chain had announced a franchisee partnership last year.
Will open 100 stores in India in 5 years
Darshan Mehta, MD, Reliance Brands said that the company is very happy to open its first Pret shop in India. Last year, Mehta had said that the brand would focus on airports in India. As per the agreement, around 100 ‘Pret a Manger’ stores will be opened in India over the next five years.
Starbucks has 275 stores in 30 cities
Tata Starbucks is currently the largest player in the coffee business with 275 stores across 30 cities. There is a 50:50 joint venture deal between Tata Consumer Products and American coffee chain Starbucks. 50 new Starbucks stores have been launched in India in FY22, the highest in a year for the company.
Starbucks will prove to be a big competitor
Avneesh Roy, executive director, Nuwama Institutional Equities, believes that Reliance Brands’ ‘pret a manager’ will prove to be a big competitor to Tata Starbucks in the long term. The arrival of ‘Pret a Manger’ could put Starbucks’ high pricing at risk.
What did the CEO of ‘Pret a Manger’ say?
Pano Christou, CEO, Pret a Manger, said that coming to India has been a long-standing goal of ours and the opening of the first store in Mumbai is a landmark moment in the company’s international expansion plan. He said, ‘We are working closely with the RBL (Reliance Brands) team to better offer Indian consumers. We will also incorporate local preferences and food habits into the Pret brand.
