The Subway(R) Restaurant Chain Crosses 200th Store Milestone In India

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Sets Sights on 500 Sandwich Shops in India by 2015

March 29, 2011 // Franchising.com // (Milford, Connecticut) –– The SUBWAY(R) restaurant chain, long known as the international purveyor of healthier alternatives to traditional fatty fast food, is celebrating the opening of its 200th store in India. The first store opened just 10 short years ago in New Delhi.

Located in the city of Ahmedabad, the milestone store was opened by long established SUBWAY(R) franchisees and multi-unit operators from the area, Krunal Patel and Dipen Patel. Together, they own and operate four The SUBWAY(R) restaurants. With this milestone, SUBWAY(R) franchisees in India now provide approximately 2,000 job and career opportunities throughout the country.

"Congratulations should go out to the entire Subway team on our achievement in India. We've had our share of challenges in an environment where customers were not used our products and suppliers were unfamiliar with our requirements," says Robby Gulri, SUBWAY(R) franchisee, Area Development Manager and Development Agent, who along with his brother, Bobby, first brought the SUBWAY(R) concept to India.

"Over the years we have refined our offerings, initiated value pricing platforms, saw the addition of a world class distribution and supply system along with other initiatives that made the Subway chain more attractive to customers and potential franchisees. This week we opened our 200th store in the country and are on track towards achieving our next goal of 500 restaurants by the end of 2015."

All The SUBWAY(R) restaurants, including those in India, are independently owned and operated. There are no company stores and the SUBWAY(R) officials credit the chain's steady growth to an excellent pool of individual franchisees that grow their business one store at a time. Franchisees are supported by dedicated locally based Development Agents, and their staff, that provide additional business expertise.

Another contributing factor to the SUBWAY(R) chain's success in India is flexibility with respect to size and type of location, which makes the brand an ideal tenant in the eyes of property owners. Store designs can be adapted to spaces as small as 150 square feet and traditional main street and shopping mall landlords appreciate the chain's ability to draw in traffic. Plus, the SUBWAY(R) concept's simple operations and minimal equipment requirements make it equally well suited for non-traditional venues such as gas stations and convenience stores, hospitals, colleges and universities, and corporate campuses.

The SUBWAY(R) chain's popularity in India is also founded on its customer's appreciation of the taste and aroma of freshly baked bread, toasted, with their favorite Indian and international flavors topped with their choice of fresh vegetables and a variety of sauces.

"We worked closely with local chefs and regional suppliers to ensure a good balance of vegetarian and non vegetarian items, along with many traditional Subway menu items, all specifically selected to appeal to the Indian palate," added Gulri.

Customer favorites include Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tandoori, and Aloo Patty sandwiches served alongside of the chain's iconic BMT and Turkey subs. In addition, customers can further customize their meals with toppings such as Mint, Chilli and simple eggless mayonnaise. The menu also includes a selection of low fat subs which are well suited to India's growing interest in health and wellness. And of course, in India, SUBWAY(R) restaurants do not serve pork or beef products.

Karen Eidsvik, SUBWAY(R) Regional Director for Asia, says, "Our work with local vendors also ensures that we can provide great value and be more accessible to our customers who are ultimately the reason for our success. They simply love our sandwiches made with freshly baked bread and personally created to please their own taste buds!"

Karen is confident the chain will achieve its long term growth goals. She added, "Our customer base is growing everyday as Subway becomes part of their lives."

With more than 34,000 outlets in 97 countries, the SUBWAY(R) chain is the largest quick service restaurant chain, in terms of number of locations, in the world. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, the SUBWAY(R) chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. In the 2010 Zagat(R) Fast Food Survey, the SUBWAY(R) brand was ranked "number one" by consumers in the "Most Popular," "Top Service" and "Healthy Options" categories for food brands with 5,000 or more locations.

SUBWAY(R) is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc.