Subway Celebrates 2,000th Store Opening in the UK and Ireland
The SUBWAY® brand is celebrating the opening of its 2,000th store in the UK and Ireland, with a new store in the Jarman Leisure Park in Hemel Hempstead. The milestone opening highlights the more than £200 million investment that SUBWAY® franchisees contribute to their local economies, alongside providing over 20,000 jobs in stores across the UK and Ireland.
As the largest Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand worldwide – there are more than 43,000 SUBWAY® stores in over 105 countries – the continued expansion of the brand in the UK and Ireland has seen over 260 stores open in the last 12 months. That’s an average of five stores opening every week.
All SUBWAY® stores are owned by local business people who operate their stores on a franchise basis.
One of the largest areas of growth for the SUBWAY® brand currently is the development of stores in non-traditional locations, such as on forecourt sites, within convenience stores, universities and hospitals. Partnerships with organisations including Welcome Break, Euro Garages, Applegreen and Sodexo have helped the brand to open more than 430 non-traditional locations in the UK and Ireland.
Greg Madigan, Area Development Manager for SUBWAY® UK and Ireland, comments: “The level of growth that the brand has experienced in the UK and Ireland is a fantastic achievement. It reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of SUBWAY® franchisees and development agents, together with the power and support of the global SUBWAY® brand.”
SUBWAY® UK and Ireland also has a strong pipeline of stores opening throughout 2015 in a variety of locations from high street to popular non-traditional locations.
The UK and Ireland is the SUBWAY® brand’s third largest market, behind the US and Canada. In all, there are more than 15,000 international locations in over 105 countries outside of the US, with over 4,500 stores across Europe.
One of the key reasons to the success of the SUBWAY® brand is the support network and robust processes available to franchisees. Regional development agents and business consultants assist and mentor franchisees with site selection, leasing, design, construction, hands-on training, purchasing, operations, advertising, local store marketing and more. The support available to all franchisees has proved to be very successful with many franchisees investing in more than one franchise and becoming multi-store owners.
Over 70% of all new SUBWAY® franchises sold worldwide are sold to existing owners, a testament to the strength of the brand and the solid support offered to franchisees.
The SUBWAY® brand is a committed partner to the UK Government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal, and the only QSR to have endorsed all eight nutrition-related pledges.
