Subway targets more than 200 restaurants

DUBAI - Subway restaurants has announced their ambitious plan to double their number in the UAE from 104 restaurants, defining the brand as the largest restaurant chain in the UAE, to more than 200 by 2015.

The announcement was made by Marwan Abdullah Abdul Malik Al Hamar, Subway’s Development Agent for the UAE, at a media roundtable on Tuesday.

Marwan, an Emirati businessman, is the owner of the main concession to develop, operate and manage Subway restaurants in the UAE.

Marwan explained that his expansion plan was related to demographic changes in the UAE.

“The working class is being replaced by the middle income class which has a higher financial quality and spending power,” he said.

“The market will boom again in the next three to five years. The real estate is low at present so people are moving to the UAE and Dubai. Infrastructure spend in Abu Dhabi and Dubai is among the highest in the world which is attracting people,” Marwan said predicting that Dubai population would increase to five million by 2015.

He pointed out that the number of Subway restaurants had grown by 100 per cent in the last two years.

“We will increase the number this year from 104 to 125 and add 25 new restaurants every year till 2015. The new restaurants will be opened all over the UAE in areas having concentration of people at locations convenient to them. Our aim is to provide best quality food and service to our customers for which we emphasise on international standard training of our staff,” 
Marwan said.