A South London bakery called Bread A Manger is fighting for survival after sandwich giant Pret A Manger ordered it to change its name. Bertrand Kerleo and Fouad Saber received a letter from the chain last week telling them to change their bakery’s name.
Pret A Manger – which roughly translates as “ready to eat” in French – says the artisan bakery’s name is too close to its own and sells similar products like coffee.
But Mr Kerleo and Mr Saber claim their bakery – which specialises in freshly baked bread and pastries – is nothing like the international chain that is famous for its takeaway sandwiches and coffee.
They say changing the name, branding, logo and website will cost the Bermondsey -based bakery up to £8,000. Mr Saber, 42, said: “I want to fight. I didn’t work hard for two years to be forced to change by a big company.
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Bread A Manger owners Bertrand Kerleo (left) and Fouad Saber (right) in their Bermondsey bakery
(Image: Robert Firth)
“I can’t understand Pret. We’re an artisan bakery. We are not fast food. In Pret you push a button to make the coffee and we have a barista and proper coffee machine.
“We are French. We can use the name we want to as French. We didn’t see any comparison with Pret. We didn’t think about it. Our customers didn’t say we look like Pret. When we created the company it wasn’t a problem.”
Pret, which has 312 stores across London, has ordered Bread A Manger to reply to their letter by March 3. It wants the bakery to change its name, logo and hand over the website domain, according to Mr Saber.
Co-owner Bertrand Kerleo said he and his business partner worked 24 hour days setting up the bakery
(Image: Robert Firth)
He and business partner Bertrand Kerleo set up the bakery in May 2020, during the first lockdown, after losing their jobs. At first the pair only did deliveries before securing the Bermondsey shop and opening to customers in June, following the relaxation of lockdown restrictions.
The bakery is run by a three-person team consisting of Mr Kerleo, Mr Saber and another member of staff, a far cry from Pret, which employs over 10,000 people. Mr Kerleo and Mr Saber met while working at legendary Borough Market bakery Bread Ahead.
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Mr Kerleo, who has previously worked in Michelin star restaurants, closed his business in France to move to London and work in bakeries across the capital.
The 47 year old said: “It’s my passion. It’s my hobby as well. We opened just after [the] first wave. When people are staying at home, we were working. We were working 24 hours at first. We give everything here.”
Jo Holinska, head of operations in London at Pret A Manger, said: “Thousands of Pret team members across London have worked hard to earn the trust of customers in the city over the past four decades, and although we appreciate it when other businesses take inspiration from what we do, this name is just too close, especially when many of the products are similar too.
“We’re more than happy to give the business the time it needs to make these changes and to provide any support we can, and we’ll be getting in touch again to see if we can resolve this in a fair and amicable way.”
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https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/london-bakery-bread-manger-claims-23261870
