News

Subway hits 40K restaurant milestone

August 27, 2013

The Subway restaurant chain opened its 40,000 location this week, at an AppleGreen petrol station in Ipswich, England.

Subway has opened 1,761 new locations around the world since the start of this year.

"This is certainly a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire Subway team, who I often refer to as 'The Greatest Team in Franchising History,'" said Fred DeLuca, president and co-founder, who opened the brand's first shop on Aug. 28, 1965. "Our franchisees are the best in the business. They are a diverse group of small business owners who take a great deal of pride in serving their customers."

This latest milestone puts the Subway brand far ahead of its competitors in the QSR segment. McDonald's, at No. 2, has about 34,000 restaurants around the world.

"The low startup costs, flexibility, and simple footprint that makes Subway so appealing to entrepreneurs who look to our brand as a way to reach their goal of owning and operating their own business. That is what makes this work," said Trevor Haynes, Subway's Area Development Manager for the UK and Ireland.

Much of Subway's recent growth has come from nontraditional locations. There are more than 9,000 nontraditional locations worldwide and about 4,500 of them are in gas/petrol stations. Other locations include hospitals, health clubs, train stations and movie theaters.

The UK is the brand's third largest market, behind the U.S. and Canada, with more than 1,500 locations. There are 14,000 international locations in 102 countries outside the U.S.

In addition to celebrating this recent milestone, the European team just opened their 4,000 location. Other milestones include Brazil with 1,200; Mexico with 700; and Argentina and Columbia each with 100 restaurants. Also, the Eastern European nation of Estonia recently opened its first Subway franchise.

"There is still a lot of opportunity in our International markets," said Chief Development Officer Don Fertman. "The brand has regional and country offices that provide education and support to the franchisees in the field; all working to ensure we are the best brand out there for both our customers as well as entrepreneurs looking to get into the restaurant business."

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