Subway ramps up growth strategy with new multi-unit owner agreements

The bread-centric chain recently signed five such agreements across the country.

Courtesy of Subway

Subway, one of the world's largest restaurant brands, is accelerating its growth development strategy with five new multi-unit owner agreements, across Texas, Florida, Arizona and the mid-Atlantic.

In total, the agreements reportedly have resulted in the consolidation and transfer of more than 230 existing restaurants thus far in 2023. They also include commitments to remodel restaurants and strategically open new restaurants in the coming years, helping the brand deliver a better and more consistent, high-quality guest experience across its system.

"A key element of Subway's multi-year transformation journey is attracting multi-unit owners with the vision, resources, operating expertise and passion for the Subway brand," says Trevor Haynes, president of Subway North America. "All five multi-unit agreements are an excellent representation of the brand's smart growth strategy coming to life and demonstrate the confidence operators have in our brand and future."

Joining the Subway family are two proven operators in the restaurant industry with experience running other leading QSR brands. In addition, existing multi-unit owners continue to make significant investments in the brand, including one that acquired more than 100 existing restaurants, expanding their portfolio to over 140 locations.

"Subway is an iconic brand that has undeniably refreshed every part of its business over the past few years with the introduction of new menu items, unique guest experiences and operational enhancements," says Tim Foley, managing partner and founder of EYAS Capital, one of Subway's new multi-unit owners. "Our team is excited to add Subway, the global leader in the sandwich space, to our portfolio and be a part of Subway's future growth."

As part of its transformation journey to improve across all aspects of the brand, Subway has spent the past two years optimizing its footprint, using a strategic, data-driven approach to ensure restaurants across the system are in the right location, image and format.

Moving forward, Subway reports it is focused on smart growth to boost franchisee profitability and protect the brand's position in the market. This includes efforts to strategically open new locations, with a goal of increasing new openings across North America by approximately 35 percent in 2023 versus 2022. In addition, the brand continues to invest in modernizing its image through relocations and remodels. This year, an additional 3,600 locations across North America are expected to be remodeled, taking the total number of restaurants in the current Subway image to more than 10,000 by this summer. As a result of its efforts, in April 2023, the brand achieved its highest weekly average unit volume since 2010.

Internationally, the brand continues to partner with operators that have specific expertise in a market to strategically expand its footprint around the world. Subway opened nearly 750 new restaurants globally in 2022, and an additional 145 new restaurants in Q1 of 2023.

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