December 23, 2003

Top Ten Franchises

In a year of milestones for Subway Restaurants, the company has once again been named the No. 1 franchise opportunity

Following Subway in the top 10, in order, are Curves, Quizno�s Franchise Co., 7-Eleven Inc., Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, The UPS Store, McDonald�s, Jani-King, Dunkin� Donuts and Baskin-Robbins USA Co.

MILFORD � In a year of milestones for Subway Restaurants, the company has once again been named the No. 1 franchise opportunity by Entrepreneur magazine.

It marked the 12th time Subway has topped the list. The 25th annual list is featured in the January issue, due on newsstands today.

Last month, the company achieved a major milestone by opening its 20,000th franchise.

Today the number stands at 20,243, including more than 18,000 in the United States and Canada.

"This tops a pretty exciting year for us," said Subway spokesman Kevin Kane. "We�re trying to get to 30,000 locations by 2010."

Founder Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway in 1965 in Milford and started franchising in 1974. The company headquarters, at 325 Bic Drive, employs 650 people.

Worldwide, the franchises employ 190,000 people in 74 countries. Subways have opened in such remote locales as Kuwait, Lebanon, Tanzania, Zambia and the West Indies. There are 29 Subway restaurants in China and seven in Russia.

"We�re hitting milestones in a lot of countries," Kane said.

"This year we passed 200 franchises in the United Kingdom and 50 in Germany."

Overseas presents the biggest growth opportunities for the company, Kane said.

Entrepreneur magazine considers several factors, including financial strength and stability, growth rate, size of the system, number of years in business and length of time franchising, start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing.

"Offering a fresh, healthy alternative to fast-food restaurants, Subway has franchises throughout the United States and in several countries, with locations in traditional and non-traditional sites alike," the magazine article says.

This year Subway introduced several new products as well, including a new, healthier Kid�s Pack that has a fruit roll-up instead of a cookie and fruit juice instead of soda.

Following Subway in the top 10, in order, are Curves, Quizno�s Franchise Co., 7-Eleven Inc., Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, The UPS Store, McDonald�s, Jani-King, Dunkin� Donuts and Baskin-Robbins USA Co.

New Haven Register

Posted by Craig at December 23, 2003 07:05 PM