New Delhi: Restaurant brand Subway has signed one of its largest master franchise agreements with Everstone Group, a South Asia-focused leading private investment firm to bolster its presence in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
As part of the partnership, Everstone, with expertise in growing and building brands in India and South Asia, will help Subway to triple the number of restaurants in 10 years from the nearly 700 locations that exist today, the company announced on Tuesday.
The new restaurants — as well as upgrades to existing locations — will adopt the company’s new, modern, and inviting ‘Fresh Forward’ design and meet the needs of today’s consumer with comfortable guest indoor dining spaces as well as numerous delivery and order-ahead options, with a strong digital-first strategy, it added further.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant step in Subway’s transformation journey and global expansion plans,” said Subway CEO John Chidsey. “Everstone, with extensive knowledge and proven restaurant operational expertise in the region, is the ideal partner as we begin this new chapter for Subway in India and South Asia.”
“The scale of this agreement is unprecedented and will ensure that Subway’s presence across India will more than triple over the next 10 years,” said Subway EMEA president Mike Kehoe. “We have seen huge demand from existing Subway guests in India and couldn’t be more excited to partner with Everstone to strengthen our presence and bring our beloved subs to even more Indian guests.”
Everstone Group founder and CEO Sameer Sain said, Subway’s philosophy of freshly made-to-order and ‘better-for-you’ food delivered at home and in-store is central to one of the greatest structural consumer trends we see in South Asia. “Everstone Group is delighted to be a partner and custodian of Subway in the region. We strongly believe that our significant experience in the QSR space, our strong digital focus, our ability to innovate, as well as our proven execution capabilities, will enable Subway to become a dominant player in the region,” he added.
