EXCLUSIVE: Patisserie Valerie looks to variety, brand refresh to regain ‘lost' customers
Its managing director says the bakery and cafe chain still has a “reasonable amount” of brand equity.
After its well-publicised travails, Patisserie Valerie is getting back on the front foot, new Managing Director Paolo Peretti tells QSR Media in an exclusive interview.
“We are fortunate in that Patisserie Valerie still has a reasonable amount of brand equity, though we recognise that we really need to move quickly as a brand because we lost a lot of customers,” he said.
Moving quickly has been key since Peretti joined last April, months after the brand was acquired by private equity firm Causeway Capital Partners.
Before the purchase, he believes there were some decisions that did not benefit the brand.
“I think the [chain’s] financial position clearly drove some of the decisions. They were chasing revenue without particularly thinking about profit,” he said.
Now, the focus will be on streamlining the group’s offering whilst increasing the quality of its products. Aside from the well-publicised reports surrounding the lack of butter in their croissants, Peretti believes the menu was “too long and complicated for the sites the chain operated from.”
“We are working hard on overhauling our menu…we will also be appointing a Head of Coffee, which indicates how serious we are about revamping our offering. I want us to be in a position where customers can come to us, order their cake, or afternoon tea, for example, and be offered suggestions of what tea or coffee would best suit their choice,” he explained.
“I think with this combination of quality products and great, knowledgeable service, we’ll be able to give customers great value for money.”
But the changes don’t end there. Gone is the brown and pink colour scheme, in is a “more contemporary” blue and pink colour palette which “still harks back to the 1920s” when the brand was born.
A store refresh is also to follow, and with a streamlined footprint of 68 stores, the chain is also planning to go on the expansion trail again, expecting to open five new stores this year, and looking at potential sites in major cities like Manchester and Liverpool.
Although the task ahead may be daunting, Peretti believes that “it’s always more interesting and exciting to take on something that needs sorting out.”
“There is a real opportunity here. Patisserie Valerie is a great brand and we believe the changes and updates we are making will set it on the right path once again.”
(Paolo Peretti will be speaking at our inaugural QSR Media UK Centegra Conference & Awards. To book tickets, click HERE.)
Adam Ang contributed to this report.
