The SUBWAY chain reaches milestone in Europe with 1,000th store opening

The SUBWAY chain, the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, has now opened over 1,000 stores in Europe.

Three locations shared the honour of being the 1,000th SUBWAY outlet, the stores in Meissen, Bielefeld and Worms in Germany.

International expansion has increasingly become an engine driver for the growth of the SUBWAY brand in recent years. The chain plans to open 2,800 units in 2005 - 35% of which will be outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Fred DeLuca, president and co-founder of the SUBWAY® chain, comments: "Our international development is really starting to take off. Europe is going through a big upward cycle - particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany. We're really starting to grow internationally and there's evidence that we will be able to surpass McDonald's, in terms of number of stores, wherever we're able to get a really strong foothold."

Kevin Graham, Regional Director for Europe, Israel and South Africa, comments:
"This fantastic achievement has been made possible by a great team effort. It reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of the development agents and franchisees together with the power of the SUBWAY brand and the systems, policies and procedures that come with that."

The SUBWAY chain recently surpassed McDonald's unit count in Northern Ireland, Iceland, Australia and Canada, and expects to exceed The company's New Zealand unit count in the next few months. With more than 18,000 units in the United States, the chain also surpassed McDonald's U.S. unit count in 2002.

Worldwide, the SUBWAY® chain has created over an estimated 230,000 full and part-time jobs and has a turnover in excess of £4 billion.

The SUBWAY chain is a known and trusted brand with proven results. Unlike traditional fast food outlets, there is no need for grills and fryers in a SUBWAY store. SUBWAY outlets are efficient, convenient and offer quick service throughout long trading hours.