Interview, Fireside Chat
Pret & Itsu Founder: How I Built TWO Billion Dollar Brands At The Same Time!: Julian Metcalfe | E173
- Julian Metcalfe sold Pret-a-Manger in 2018 for a valuation exceeding £2 billion but retains no stake or influence, as new owners rejected his vision for the brand.
- He currently owns 100% of Itzu, a Japanese restaurant chain now operating 76 stores, which is undergoing a third reinvention to prioritize affordable, nutritious food.
- Metcalfe admits to having no idea what he was doing when founding Pret; he views the business as a series of "endless moments of failure" and "bizarre creativity" rather than a calculated plan.
- He built 76 Itzu locations to maintain full ownership and avoid the loss of creative control that occurred at Pret following the entry of private equity and McDonald's (which held a 30% stake briefly).
- Metcalfe implemented a staff-vote hiring system at Pret where current employees decided on new recruits via a napkin vote after a paid shadow shift, empowering the team and preventing manager bias.
- He pioneered a "give-away" culture at Pret (later codified as the "Joy of Pret" button) where staff could offer free food to customers, prioritizing long-term relationship building over short-term profit margins.
- Transparency is a core operating principle for Metcalfe; he shares all financial data with his teams quarterly and reveals he has never taken a salary or profit from his businesses.
- Metcalfe's childhood trauma includes his mother's suicide when he was seven and his father's distant, cold nature, which created a "void of responsibility" that fostered his independence but also a lifelong distrust of authority.
- He overcame a deep-seated fear of commitment in relationships until age 25, stemming from witnessing his parents' dysfunctional marriage where he perceived his father as "trapped in a cage."
- He describes his success as driven by a desire to make a difference and be relevant, rather than money, citing his observation that wealth alone did not prevent his mother's misery.
- Metcalfe rejects the notion that ambition or "hard work" guarantees success; he argues for "evidence-based" progress, where product quality and relationship improvements must be tangible.
- He is currently in the process of reconciling with his 19-year-old daughter, Celeste, whom he discovered he had fathered 15 years ago; she now leads the marketing team and sits on his company's board.
- Metcalfe identifies his primary inadequacy as failing to spend enough time nurturing and loving his own family due to his intense professional commitment, a cost he accepts but acknowledges.
- He advocates for "slow and beautiful growth," explicitly avoiding short-term ambitious managers in favor of long-term planning horizons of 30 years.
- Metcalfe attributes the success of his businesses to the creation of "unstructured" environments where people are trusted, nurtured, and given the autonomy to be themselves, contrasting this with the "meat grinder" experience of his own schooling.
- He believes that 90% of business success stems from an understanding of human behavior and the ability to build trust, noting that "commerce is selfish" in most traditional contexts.
- Metcalfe states that the "glass box" world of the internet has made lying difficult for businesses, forcing transparency in product claims and internal relationships.
- He emphasizes that health and safety standards at his current ventures are paramount, maintaining a five-star record across all locations.
- Metcalfe views failure as a necessary and positive component of the entrepreneurial journey, stating, "I love failure. I fail every day. I don't care about it. Just get on with it."
- He asserts that treating food with "pride" means it should be fresh with no sell-by dates, and any surplus must be donated to the homeless rather than discarded.
- Metcalfe notes that his daughter Celeste has a third child on the way, and the extended family dynamic has become a source of enrichment for him.
- He identifies his current "crisis management" role as largely assuring his team that setbacks are temporary and manageable, drawing confidence from a commitment to truth and transparency.
- Metcalfe admits he is a hypochondriac but states he fears death primarily because health issues are beyond human control.
- He recommends to emerging entrepreneurs to embrace their "inadequacies," accept them, and continue working with the evidence they have rather than pretending to have all the answers.