How Gail's became the symbol of high street gentrification
Upmarket bakery chain has been bitterly resisted by residents in several areas

Gail's has been accused of hypocrisy after a whistleblower revealed that the upmarket bakery throws away unsold sandwiches every two hours rather than chilling them in fridges.
The revelation, published in The Sun, will add to consumers' misgivings around the divisive chain, which has already been accused of contributing to gentrification.
Priced out
The "mere presence" of a Gail's seems to "provoke residents" – from Walthamstow in "trendy east London" to Lewes, East Sussex – into "a rage", said the Daily Mail. Gail's is being blamed for the "gentrification" of neighbourhoods because, its critics say, its arrival means "small, local shops and services" are "priced out".
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When it moved into Walthamstow last year, a petition of opposition collected 1,800 signatures, despite the area seeming to be the "last word in gentrified living", said The Observer. A local said she opposed the arrival of Gail's because it would cause "inevitable" rent rises, pricing out local independent shops.
But some locals could see an upside to Gail's arrival. One admitted that there are "benefits to gentrification" and "if house prices go up, selfishly I quite like that".
Market decision
The broader expansion of the chain is "satisfactory for many reasons", including the "ongoing pressure" it "exerts on independent coffee shops", said Zoe Strimpel in The Spectator. Contrary to the "bleating of the anti-gentrificationists", independent shops are "everywhere and going gangbusters" but Gail's will help them to "keep improving".
So although "London progressives" are not "grateful for its expanding presence on our streets", the market has "made the decision for them" and "it's the right one".
Algorithm planning
Meanwhile, Gail's will continue to expand, using an AI algorithm to choose locations for new branches. Co-founder and chief executive Tom Molnar said the company's tech team has been building the system over eight years, inputting data such as the distance from transport links and the number of churches and schools in the area.
“We end up with an algorithm that can tell you kind of every postcode in the country, what we might be able to do there, based on what we’ve done," he told the Hungry podcast. The business plans to open between 30 and 40 more bakeries across the UK in 2025 and hire 1,000 more staff.
Speaking to The Times last year, Molnar dismissed claims of "gentrification", saying: "I'd encourage people to look at what we're trying to do, rather than taglines. There's good independents and bad, and good chains and bad chains."
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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
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