Subway UK and Ireland’s area development manager, Greg Madigan, has some ambitious plans for the restaurant brand following the launch of its 2,000th store.
I put three questions to Greg about the company’s growth and success.
Greg, Subway is celebrating the opening of its 2,000th store; just how significant a milestone is that?
It’s massive. We’re really pleased to have hit this milestone; I’m actually at the Hemel Hempstead store today and it’s very exciting. UK & Ireland is our largest market outside of North America and in the last 12 months we’ve opened 269 stores. For the UK & Ireland, this has meant a contribution of 20,000 jobs and an investment of £200m into local communities. So it is very exciting.
What sort of a role do your franchisees play in the company’s growth?
Each of the 2,000 stores has individual owner-operators, and we recognise that these are run as individual businesses. They have the Subway brand behind them; they benefit from excellent support systems, training and new menu development. Franchisees have the opportunity to shape market messages in their local communities and contribute to brand innovation. What we have is a franchisor/franchisee partnership where Subway recognises that all the day-to-day decisions it takes affect the business; each franchise is its own small business.
So, what’s next for Subway?
Well, we’re pleased to reach this milestone today. We opened 269 new stores in 2014 and plan similar growth for 2015, so we have a strong pipeline, which is really great. We’re now looking for a balance between traditional high street and non-traditional locations, so hospitals, universities, convenience stores, forecourts. Our next milestone will be 3,000 stores and we’re planning to achieve that by 2020.
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