The Gail’s backlash

Gail's bakery has become a status symbol for the changing affluence of neighbourhoods and highlights the changes in the socio-economic landscape in many areas of the UK.

Gail's' growing influence has been a point of contention for years, and none more so than in Walthamstow Village, where a petition was launched to block the chain from opening a bakery on Orford Road, for fears it would have a negative impact on local business.

The story made the news locally and nationally. The community wants to fight back against “the lack of visibility for local businesses in the wake of Gail's opening and said whilst it respects the bakery chain, it believed it would cause a threat to local business” and “dismantle the character and diversity crucial to Walthamstow’s charm”. Small businesses can’t compete with a private equity-backed chain with the manpower to have the shop open seven days a week. It feels like a David v Goliath story, independent versus chain.

For the uninitiated, Gail’s has gained a bit of a cult following for its fresh, handmade bread, sandwiches, salads, pastries and cakes, as well as its house-blend specialty coffee and seasonal specials. The brand has also grown rapidly from its inception in the1990’s, mainly supplying bread to London’s restaurants, it is grown to nearly 150 branches today.

Over the years, the brand has received several private equity investments, helping it drive growth. It has a valuation of nearly £300 million. Despite having grown over the years, Gail’s states that its philosophy has remained- to make good food that people love and create delicacies that people keep coming back for. It prides itself from believing in the power of community, in helping those around us and living as sustainably as possible.

However, this message is not really filtering through to the communities, such as in Walthamstow, who believe it is hard for a brand to be seen as an integral part of any neighbourhood when it is everywhere. As the Guardian puts it, do not be fooled by the “neighbourhood” feel of a Gail’s – this is a careful construct. Its packaging conceived by a design studio, after “in-depth brand strategy and positioning work” to make it feel “authentic” and “local”.

The larger the Gail’s network gets, the greater the tension becomes.  Many UK high streets could do with more chains opening. Gail’s is attracting footfall to a high street and could, in the longer term, be beneficial to local communities. And despite the petition in Walthamstow, the media has widely reported on the queues of customers getting their daily coffees and other bakery products there. However, from a Communications standpoint, Gail’s holding company has been too focused on communicating its growth story and ambitions. Perhaps an exit from its Private Equity owners is on the cards. It has lost its ethos of being a neighbourhood bakery business. The Gail’s story clearly highlights the importance for consumer facing brands and the fact that they cannot solely communicate with one stakeholder group. Their ecosystem of stakeholders is wide, and a consumer backlash could be very detrimental to a brand’s reputation. In Gail’s case, when the local population are vocal about not wanting you in their community before you have even landed, it’s a challenging start for a new outlet.