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I knew that they've been booming in recent years...but wow. Never thought any chain would ever surpass the Golden Arches.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703386704576186432177464052.html?mod=yahoo_free
[h1]Subway Runs Past McDonald's Chain[/h1][h3]By JULIE JARGON [/h3]
It'sofficial: the Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald's Corp. asthe world's largest restaurant chain, in terms of units.
At the end of last year, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide,compared to McDonald's 32,737. The burger giant disclosed its year-endstore count in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late lastmonth.
The race for global dominance is an important one for an industrythat's mostly saturated in the U.S. High unemployment and economicuncertainty have battered the restaurant industry in the U.S., andchains are increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly inAsia.
Julie Jargon explains why McDonald'shas lost its title as the world's largest restaurant chain and whichrival now holds that distinction.
[h3] Journal Community [/h3]
StarbucksCorp. recently said it plans to triple its number of outlets in China,for example. Dunkin' Brands Inc., parent of Dunkin' Donuts andBaskin-Robbins, plans to open thousands of new outlets in China incoming years as well as its first stores in Vietnam in the next 18months. Subway just opened its 1,000th location in Asia, including itsfirst in Vietnam.
Subway, which opened its first international restaurant in 1984, inBahrain, expects its number of international restaurants to exceed itsdomestic ones by 2020, says Don Fertman, Subway's Chief DevelopmentOfficer. The chain currently has just over 24,000 restaurants in theU.S., where it generated $10.5 billion of its $15.2 billion in revenuelast year.
[h3]More[/h3]
The closely held company, owned by Doctor's Associates Inc., does not disclose its profits.
McDonald's is still the leader when it comes to sales. The burgerchain reported $24 billion in revenue last year. "We remain focused onlistening to and serving our customers, and are committed to beingbetter, not just bigger," a McDonald's spokeswoman says.
Subway, which surpassed the number of McDonald's in the U.S. aboutnine years ago, expects China to eventually become one of its largestmarkets. The sandwich shop only has 199 restaurants in China now, butexpects to have more than 500 by 2015.
View Full Image
[img]http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-MX345_subway_D_20110307143349.jpg[/img]
Subway
The Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain in terms of units.
[img]http://si.wsj.net/img/BTN_insetClose.gif[/img]
Subwayhas achieved its rapid growth, in part, by opening outlets innon-traditional locations such as an automobile showroom in California,an appliance store in Brazil, a ferry terminal in Seattle, a riverboatin Germany, a zoo in Taiwan, a Goodwill store in South Carolina, a highschool in Detroit and a church in Buffalo, New York.
"We're continually looking at just about any opportunity for someoneto buy a sandwich, wherever that might be. The closer we can get to thecustomer, the better," Mr. Fertman says, explaining that it now hasalmost 8,000 Subways in unusual locations. "The non-traditional isbecoming traditional."
The company has some concerns about the economies of certaininternational markets, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Thecompany is trying to develop more affordable offerings in thosecountries, similar to the $5 foot-long sandwiches that have beensuccessful in the U.S.
"Finding that kind of value proposition in those countries is essential," Mr. Fertman says.
Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703386704576186432177464052.html?mod=yahoo_free
[h1]Subway Runs Past McDonald's Chain[/h1][h3]By JULIE JARGON [/h3]
It'sofficial: the Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald's Corp. asthe world's largest restaurant chain, in terms of units.
At the end of last year, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide,compared to McDonald's 32,737. The burger giant disclosed its year-endstore count in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late lastmonth.
The race for global dominance is an important one for an industrythat's mostly saturated in the U.S. High unemployment and economicuncertainty have battered the restaurant industry in the U.S., andchains are increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly inAsia.
Julie Jargon explains why McDonald'shas lost its title as the world's largest restaurant chain and whichrival now holds that distinction.
[h3] Journal Community [/h3]
StarbucksCorp. recently said it plans to triple its number of outlets in China,for example. Dunkin' Brands Inc., parent of Dunkin' Donuts andBaskin-Robbins, plans to open thousands of new outlets in China incoming years as well as its first stores in Vietnam in the next 18months. Subway just opened its 1,000th location in Asia, including itsfirst in Vietnam.
Subway, which opened its first international restaurant in 1984, inBahrain, expects its number of international restaurants to exceed itsdomestic ones by 2020, says Don Fertman, Subway's Chief DevelopmentOfficer. The chain currently has just over 24,000 restaurants in theU.S., where it generated $10.5 billion of its $15.2 billion in revenuelast year.
[h3]More[/h3]
- See a List of Subway's Unusual Store Locations
- A Subway, but no McDonald's, in Tanzania
- Subway's Hot-Selling Global Sandwiches
- McDonald's February Sales Rose 3.9%; U.S. Results Were Weak
- Earlier: McDonald's Plans Expansion in China
- Earlier: McDonald's Supersizes in Japan
- Earlier: Starbucks Brews Plan to Enter India
The closely held company, owned by Doctor's Associates Inc., does not disclose its profits.
McDonald's is still the leader when it comes to sales. The burgerchain reported $24 billion in revenue last year. "We remain focused onlistening to and serving our customers, and are committed to beingbetter, not just bigger," a McDonald's spokeswoman says.
Subway, which surpassed the number of McDonald's in the U.S. aboutnine years ago, expects China to eventually become one of its largestmarkets. The sandwich shop only has 199 restaurants in China now, butexpects to have more than 500 by 2015.
View Full Image
[img]http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-MX345_subway_D_20110307143349.jpg[/img]
Subway
The Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain in terms of units.
[img]http://si.wsj.net/img/BTN_insetClose.gif[/img]
Subwayhas achieved its rapid growth, in part, by opening outlets innon-traditional locations such as an automobile showroom in California,an appliance store in Brazil, a ferry terminal in Seattle, a riverboatin Germany, a zoo in Taiwan, a Goodwill store in South Carolina, a highschool in Detroit and a church in Buffalo, New York.
"We're continually looking at just about any opportunity for someoneto buy a sandwich, wherever that might be. The closer we can get to thecustomer, the better," Mr. Fertman says, explaining that it now hasalmost 8,000 Subways in unusual locations. "The non-traditional isbecoming traditional."
The company has some concerns about the economies of certaininternational markets, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Thecompany is trying to develop more affordable offerings in thosecountries, similar to the $5 foot-long sandwiches that have beensuccessful in the U.S.
"Finding that kind of value proposition in those countries is essential," Mr. Fertman says.
Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com
