Pret A Manger is reportedly in talks franchise partner talks with Reliance Retail that could see the UK coffee and food-to-go chain enter the Indian market
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The proposed franchise agreement highlights Pret’s ambitious plans to double the size of its business in the next five years | Photo credit: Marco Verch via Flickr
Reliance Retail, the retail venture of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, is reportedly negotiating with UK food-to-go and coffee chain Pret a Manger for a new franchise partnership
According to
The Economic Times, discussions are ongoing and an official announcement likely to be made soon. Reliance Retail failed last year in an attempt to acquire sandwich chain Subway Inc's India franchise rights, which were eventually acquired by private equity group Everstone in late 2021.
If the partnership is agreed, it would follow the franchise agreement between Pret A Manger and Kuwaiti franchise group One PM Franchising in the
Middle East, announced at the end of 2021. The agreements highlight Pret’s ambitious plans to double the size of its business within the next five years.
The reported agreement would see Pret A Manger follow in the footsteps of Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, who in March, signed an agreement with a joint venture to open its first store in India as part of a plan to target more than 250 stores within five years.
Pret-A-Manger currently operates 550 locations across the UK, the US, France, Hong Kong and Dubai. In April, the company announced plans to enter Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with 20 stores set to open within the next decade.