C-Store Activity grows for Subway in 2009

MILFORD, Conn. -- The year 2009 was a busy time for the Subway restaurant chain. This past year, it continued promoting healthier dining options, expanded the $5 footlong promotion by incorporating its value message into the sandwich chain's permanent pricing structure and opened 2,164 new locations in 49 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia; seven Canadian provinces; and in 67 countries. Now, at more than 32,000 locations in 90 countries, the chain is close to becoming the world's single largest restaurant brand, in terms of number of outlets.

For 2009, convenience stores accounted for the largest segment of new nontraditional openings, bringing the chain's total number of restaurants in c-store settings to more than 3,700 locations around the world.

From the beginning of January through the end of December, new-store openings accounted for approximately 2.6 million square feet of commercial retail space, while the total international store count added up to more than 9,200 restaurants.

In May, it reached a record 31,000 locations worldwide. That record was later broken in November when it reached 32,000 stores.

Store expansion climbed in international markets with 1,300 locations open in the United Kingdom, 700 in Germany and 400 in Mexico. Further milestones included 350 locations in Brazil, 175 in France, 150 in India, 100 in Ireland and 75 each in the Netherlands, Russia and Singapore; 2009 also saw the opening of the first Subway restaurants in Macau and Slovakia.

In Canada, the Subway chain reached a high of 2,400 locations from coast to coast, including 900 in the province of Ontario and 75 in Nova Scotia.

Development increased domestically, as well, when the chain reached a milestone of 22,000 open and operating locations in the United States. Other milestones include 1,700 locations in the state of Texas, 1,100 in Illinois and New York, 600 in Indiana, 500 in Washington and 400 each in Arizona, Colorado and Louisiana.

In the nontraditional development category, the Subway chain now has more than 7,200 locations in places such as airports, department stores, hospitals and park and recreational facilities. Recent openings include Subway stores at airports in Managua, Montreal and Prague; corporate centers in Belgium and India; U.S. college campuses and all the way to the UAE; big box retailers from Sweden to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; the historic boardwalk in Wildwood, N.J.; CitiField, the new home of the New York Mets; and the famed Nurburgring Racetrack in Germany.

For 2009, c-stores accounted for the largest segment of new nontraditional openings. But the most nontraditional of the nontraditional is multi-unit franchisee, Richard Schragger's, newest store. For the next two years, it will be located on a crane rising along side the construction of OneWorldTradeCenter—also known as the FreedomTower—providing meals for construction workers as the structure rises 108 stories. At 1,776 feet, the tower will be the tallest building in the United States and one of the tallest buildings in the world.