section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . april 2016 pret a manger type private industry retail outlets founded 1983 founder jeffrey hyman headquarters city of westminster london united kingdom number of locations 374 april 2015 area served united kingdom united states hong kong france united arab emirates key people clive schlee ceo nicholas candler coo products sandwiches salads sushi soups coffees and snacks revenue 510 million 2013 1 operating income 41 million 2013 1 owner bridgepoint capital website http www.pret.co.uk inside pret a manger victoria place london pret a manger pr t m n e is a sandwich shop chain based in the united kingdom . 2 contents 1 history 2 restaurants 2.1 menu 2.2 outlets 3 organization 3.1 staff 3.2 management 4 controversies 4.1 affective labour issues 4.2 pret a manger staff union 5 references 6 external links history edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message pret a manger was founded by jeffrey hyman in october 1983 . the first pret a manger shop opened in hampstead london in 1984 . 3 4 the name pr t manger french pronunciation p t a m e ready to eat was coined by hyman s sister valerie tomalin based on pr t porter french for ready to wear clothing . the outlet focused on gourmet ready to eat food which was inspired by the parisian ready to go shops called traiteurs . the store s design was inspired by steel and chrome upmarket sandwich bars dotted in and around manhattan which hyman visited very often on food research missions . he was particularly impressed with ddl foodshow on the upper west side and zabar s on broadway . this first store was located opposite hampstead underground station had its own kitchen and offered ready to eat main courses as well as the mini quiches filled baguettes croque monsieur and other ready to go convenience foods which have now become classics . there was also a small cafe area for customers to eat and drink at the front of the store . hyman commissioned mike earl then art director at kirkwood s advertising agency 5 to design the now famous logo which is much the same now as it was then see illustration right . horner collis & kirvan 6 developed the advertising and promotion campaign for poster sites the london underground local press and door to door leafleting . the original logo by mike earl with a hand drawn art nouveau typeface maroon and white house colours . 1984 pret a manger 58 hampstead high street london united kingdom opening in june 1984 the company traded at 58 hampstead high street for eighteen months . after a successful year the greater london council erected scaffolding to repair the roof and takings dropped to below break even point and the company went into liquidation . 7 it was sold by company liquidator david rubin to college friends sinclair beecham and julian metcalfe . the two met while studying at the polytechnic of central london . citation needed beecham and metcalfe had little business experience . their company claims they created the sort of food they craved but could not find anywhere else . 8 they opened their first branch near victoria station london . 9 in 2001 mcdonald s bought a 33 % non controlling stake in the usa branch of the company 10 which they sold in 2008 to private equity firm bridgepoint capital owners of clothing retailer fat face . 11 12 in 2011 its sales were 377 million . 13 as of 2012 efforts were underway in london to unionise shop employees . citation needed restaurants edit menu edit exterior view pret a manger edinburgh scotland the menu includes sandwiches baguettes pots and desserts cold drinks hot drinks crisps and bakery items as well as sushi salads soups and cakes . 2 the company emphasises the use of natural ingredients and advertises all sandwiches are made on the day of purchase in a kitchen at each location with the stated exception of a few small outlets . food left unsold at the end of the day is collected by charities . sandwiches are packaged in paperboard rather than sealed plastic . 14 outlets edit 67 % of its trade is in london where around three quarters of its stores are located . as of february 2014 there were 289 uk shops 187 in london nine in scotland and two in wales . there are 92 outlets throughout the rest of the uk . 15 as of april 2016 pret has expanded to new york 43 stores hong kong 16 stores washington d.c. 9 stores boston 6 stores and chicago 8 stores . unlike many other fast food outlets pret a manger does not franchise . exterior of a pret a manger cafe on coventry street london hong kong 16 outlets as of april 2016 . 16 new york 43 outlets as of april 2016 . 17 chicago 8 outlets as of april 2016 . 17 washington d.c. 9 outlets as of april 2016 . 17 shanghai 1 outlet as of october 2014 . paris 14 outlets as of april 2016 . the first outlet in france opened on 9 january 2012 . the shop was opened in la d fense a major business district of the paris aire urbaine . 18 boston 6 outlets as of april 2016 . two stores opened in december 2012 in the back bay and financial district . 19 in june 2014 pret opened its largest american location in boston s downtown crossing neighborhood . this location stands at 5 335 square feet and can seat 100 people . 20 nice 1 outlet as of april 2016 . 18 dubai 1 outlet as of march 2016 . the first outlet in dubai opened on 16 march 2016 at dubai international airport s new concourse d. 21 organization edit staff edit pret a manger graphic scheme london storefront in 1998 the company employed 1 400 people of whom 19 % were from the uk and 60 % were from other european union countries mainly in eastern europe . pret a manger employs one in every 14 applicants . applicants go on a one day experience day at a shop and their success is determined by the other staff members who vote the applicant in or not . many managers and senior executives have come from within the company . 22 management edit the organisational structure of pret a manger is divided between its stores and the main offices . the london head office is the hub for the uk stores while the office in new york city is the hub for the american stores . 23 each store contains levels of positions that range from team member to the general manager of the store . 24 above the in store manager is the operations manager who is in charge of a group of roughly 10 stores and above that are more senior management positions based out of the offices that are tasked with coordinating an entire region and maintaining communication with the company s ceo in london . 23 all the office employees are paired with a buddy shop where they work at least two days a year . 25 while the uppermost levels of management are located in the offices not all the office jobs are above the store jobs in the organizational structure . pret does not franchise any of its stores in order to keep management strategies uniform across the entire brand . 26 orders do not strictly flow from the head offices in a top down manner ; instead the channel of communication between the executives and the stores is open in both directions . 26 pret a manger promotes an internal culture as described in a leaflet entitled pret behaviours . the behaviours break down traits into three categories passion clear talking and team working and identify specific behaviours as don t want to see want to see and pret perfect 27 the number of behaviours pret hopes an employee exhibits increases with one s rank within the company team members should practise around six behaviours managers ten and the company s executives all of them . 28 controversies edit affective labour issues edit pret a manger has been cited as being particularly vigorous in extracting affective labour from its employees . 29 affective labour or emotional labour 30 is work which involves manipulating a person s emotional state . pret a manger demands go beyond traditional requirements for fast food workers such as courtesy efficiency and reliability to such tasks as having presence demonstrating a quirky sense of fun and exhibiting behaviour consistent with being inwardly happy with oneself . 31 pret a manger uses mystery shoppers to ensure that employees deploy markers of a positive emotional state . 29 32 this has led to some criticism of the company for overreaching 29 30 33 while drawing some praise for the business model . 32 34 pret a manger staff union edit in response to labour issues within the company the pret a manger staff union was established in 2012 as an independent union with its principal demand being made around calls for a living wage . 35 andrej stopa the founder of the union was later sacked from his pret branch . 36 37 references edit a b bridge sarah . debt laden pret a manger turns 500m sales into a loss . this is money . retrieved 2015 09 05 . a b company overview of pret a manger europe ltd. . bloomberg businessweek . retrieved november 2012 . check date values in access date help company number 1763373 pret a manger hampstead ltd incorporated 21 october 1983 . shareholders included robin wight and peter scott both directors of advertising agency wcrs ; james pilditch ; monty white ; singer lynsey de paul ; jeffrey hyman ; and valerie hyman . the food & drink innovation network . the fdin . retrieved 18 april 2012 . considine pippa . close up where are they now a quintessential adman who has kept his hand in the game . campaignlive.co.uk . retrieved 2016 04 28 . maja pawinska . three men and their dog launch creative agency vinnie . brand republic . retrieved 2016 04 28 . company check ltd 28 april 2016 . pret a manger hampstead limited . free business summary taken from official companies house information . free alerts . registered as 01763373 . company check . retrieved 28 april 2016 . about the founders . pret a manger . retrieved 23 january 2012 . pret a manger founders sitting pretty . the daily telegraph . london . 24 february 2008 . retrieved 2012 02 16 . g2 pret a manger goes global world news . the guardian . london . 1 february 2001 . retrieved 2010 02 25 . mcdonald s offloads pret stake to bridgepoint . brand republic news . retrieved 2010 02 25 . sibun jonathan 23 february 2008 . pret a manger to be sold to private equity . the daily telegraph . london . retrieved 2010 02 25 . morning business round up eurozone unemployment rises . bbc news . 3 april 2012 . retrieved 17 april 2013 . rose 15 % last year to 377.3 m sandwich packaging pret a manger case study rap . rapuk.com . 2014 06 20 . retrieved 2015 09 05 . shops in the uk . pret a manger . retrieved 28 february 2014 . shops in hk .