BrandIndex Buzz and Attention scores increase for sandwich chain after record sales and stores
by Donald Miller
Buzz and Attention scores from YouGov's BrandIndex, which measures public perception of hundreds of well-known brands, have been improving for sandwich chain Pret A Manger, as the company announces record levels of sales and store openings for 2011 and 2012.
A familiar high-street name, Pret has recently stated that in the UK, its sales rose 15% to £377.3m in 2011 while also recording an underlying profit up 14% to £52.4m.
Much of Pret’s success has been driven by the opening of 24 brand new sandwich shops, which has has brought the total number of branches to nearly 300. The company plans to open a further 44 new stores in 2012, 20 of which will operate outside of the UK. This number includes the planned opening of further shops in Hong Kong, and also in France, where the sandwich chain has already been doing well.
On 3rd April, Pret also announced the creation of 550 new jobs following its record year of sales. BrandIndex’s Buzz score, which measures the amount of positive and negative noise around the brand, increased following this announcement. Pret’s Buzz scores rose from +4.2 points on 2nd April to a peak of +8.1 points on April 12. This uplift has also moved Pret up to a level identical to rival sandwich makers Subway and Greggs*.
The Attention score for Pret a Manger also increased following the April sales and new jobs announcement. Its Attention stood at 7.8% on 2nd April, and by 18th April it had increased to 14.4%.
Whilst Pret has had increases on Buzz and Attention, what remains to be seen is if the company will be able to carry over these increases to many of its other brand health measures recorded on BrandIndex, such as value.
Only time will tell whether or not another successful year awaits the sandwich chain in 2012.
*Note that Greggs experienced an increase in Attention and a decrease in Buzz for a very unique reason: see our related article published in CityAM
