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-: It is clearly important that a company needs to grow.
And I think there is that tension with company's growing
and balancing how you execute on the brand.
A healthy tension is good,
but I think that being focused on delivering
a great experience to our customers
is of the utmost importance.
In regards to resilience,
we clearly went through a lot
over the last five years or so.
If you've got a good team that you're united with,
that you collaborate with,
and that can really be honest with each other,
you'll generally come through things together.
The resilience of the Pret team,
from my perspective, has been absolutely phenomenal.
We wouldn't be in the position that we are today
without them,
and I think they are very excited now
with the next phase of growth for our brand.
We are pivoting now
to be more of a franchise-first organization.
So, that stage of our growth is a real big bet.
As it stands today,
35% of our sellers now offer our franchise partners.
In 2019, that was 4%.
So pivoting to be, what I would call,
more of a brand service
and how we ensure that the brand
shows up to our franchise partners,
that, in essence, are our customers,
is a big pivot.
And I think, as you look
at brands becoming more international,
it is a natural progression.
And I think the second big piece for us
is how we ensure that we continue our digital journey,
continue that connection with our customers,
and the desire of our customers around the world
is very different from a physical and digital presence.
But, I think, for me, first and foremost,
the most important thing is that we are continuing
to give a great experience
and great value for our customers.
We've stayed very close to understanding
how AI is impacting our sector.
We're already starting to use AI
for things such as marketing, recruitment,
and how we analyze different candidate applications.
We're also looking at opening
our first drive-through in 2025,
and looking at different technologies
to enable that customer experience,
and there are lots of companies
that are now using AI for that.
I would say the sector hasn't been fully disrupted
from an AI perspective, as other industries may have done.
From my own personal perspective,
I think AI will see some big lifts within the world,
and I think it will become ever clearer
as that technology matures.
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