There are lots of things that act as economic indicators: GDP annual growth, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate are three key ones for the UK. Then there are more quirky signs of an economy’s health, such as the Leading Lipstick Indicator.
The term was coined by Leonard Lauder, the then-chairman of the board of Estée Lauder, during the early 2000s recession. Lauder said that sales of lipstick increase during hard times because, his theory went, women can still spend on smaller luxuries like beauty products when expensive purchases such as designer fashion and bags are off the cards.
Subsequent recessions put paid to his theory, but not before the concept was widely adopted. As a term, the “lipstick index” is one that has entered the lexicon.
Now, here’s another fun economic indicator that’s guaranteed to get us all talking: The Pret Index. If you’re wondering what sandwiches can tell us about economic recovery – and also footfall around London’s financial districts and the repopulation of offices post-pandemic, read on.
Bloomberg created the indicator specifically using the Pret A Manger chain because it is synonymous with the office lunch hour, and it began tracking weekly transactions against what they were before the outbreak of Covid-19.
So what has the Pret Index found? Some interesting stuff, as it happens. Up to 14th July, London City and Canary Wharf were at 83 per cent of their pre-Covid transactions, down from a peak of 89 per cent in May. Pret estimates it may take years for a full recovery here, but the figure also indicates that offices are not yet fully populated in London’s business districts.
Things look a bit different in the city’s West End arts, entertainment and shopping district around Oxford St, Marylebone and St James. Visits to cafés climbed rapidly during the 2021 summer period, fuelled by tourism and locals getting out and about, before plummeting during the autumn’s covid waves. This summer, transactions are at 88 per cent of their pre-pandemic levels, or a fraction below normal.
In the city’s airports, sales are soaring, which is a measure of both tourism and business travel. Levels across Luton, Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports are 140 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, in a trend that Pret A Manger says has surprised it the most. Sales are also up at locations in train stations, which surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time this April, and as of July were standing at 101 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
If sandwich sales are anything to go by, London’s workplace economy is in recovery, and things are looking optimistic for autumn and winter to come too. That is also positive for anyone looking to move jobs or accelerate their career over the next few weeks or months. If that’s you, we’re taking a look at three companies which are currently hiring below, and there are plenty more to discover on the London Economic Job Board.
Fintech Unicorn SaltPay was founded in 2019 with the goal to create payment and software solutions to help small and medium-sized businesses to better manage and grow their operations. SMEs are taken for granted by banks and traditional service providers, and small businesses have especially struggled to get access to the financial services and software they need. This is SaltPay’s niche and it’s now serving more than 100,000 merchants, and has over 1,000 employees in 14 offices across 10 countries. It is also hiring: roles on offer include sales, accounting, compliance and risk management – you can see all available jobs here.
It is the world’s number one jobs site, connecting talent to the right roles for them. Indeed’s website has over 250m unique visitors every month, and allows job seekers to search millions of jobs on the web or mobile in over 60 countries and 28 languages. Want to work there? Globally, the company employs over 10,000 people and right now in London, client success, account managers, security and reliability engineers, and talent management positions are all being advertised. If you’re on the lookout, discover more open roles right here.
Monzo is a completely online bank, and was one of the earliest of a number of new app-based challenger banks in the UK when it launched in 2015. Now a smart hub users can access to manage their entire financial lives, Monzo has around 100,000 monthly users and 550 employees. It officially reached ‘unicorn’ status in 2018, and is growing – right now it is seeking new hires to take up finance analyst, head of tax, CRM manager and software and backend engineering roles. Want to work here? Lots more information on all open positions is available.
