Wall Street bankers are going without Pret sandwiches because the supply chain crisis has led to a bread shortage
- Pret's CEO said the chain was struggling to make enough sandwiches because of ingredient shortages.
- Pano Christou said this was denting sales in downtown Manhattan, home to Wall Street, and other key markets.
Sandwich chain Pret a Manger said it's struggling to get hold of enough bread and other ingredients to make sandwiches, and it's putting a dent in sales.
According to Bloomberg, the chain has seen transactions in stores in key markets drop in recent weeks.
In New York's downtown Manhattan area, which includes Wall Street, Bloomberg's Pret Index indicated that transaction volume fell to 50% of pre-pandemic levels this week. According to Pret CEO Pano Christou, the drop was largely because of ingredient shortages. In addition to bread, the firm is finding it challenging to secure items such as lettuce and arugula, Christou said.
"Suppliers are struggling to get ingredients in because they're stuck at ports and there isn't enough staff to move the containers around," Christou told Bloomberg. "There have been some days when our fridges have been pretty depleted in the US because of that."
Insider reached out to Pret for further comment but did not immediately hear back.
Restaurants and retailers around the US have been scrambling to keep shelves stocked and menus complete through the supply chain crisis. A drop-off in demand at the height of the pandemic, followed by a quicker-than-expected recovery, has made it harder to secure anything from taco shells to paper takeaway bags.
The labor shortage has only made the situation worse and some chains have been forced to pull advertising in order to turn customers off popular items that are in short supply.
Some retailers and restaurants have started to stockpile or over-order to get ahead of delays and shortages but this is only making the situation worse. Others are raising prices.
Christou told Bloomberg that price increases were on the horizon next year as the business looks to recoup higher supplier costs. He's also not expecting a quick fix to ingredient shortages any time soon.
For the time being, Pret is making do with a slimmed-down menu and is ordering whatever bread it can through its head office before distributing it evenly around all its cafes, Bloomberg reported.