After grocery, ed-tech, music, e-pharmacy, funds, trend, and furnishings, Mukesh Ambani appears to be eager on taking a giant chunk of the fast service restaurant (QSR) enterprise. is in talks with the world’s largest single-brand restaurant chain, Subway Inc, to purchase its India franchise for $200-250 million (Rs 1,488-1,860 crore), mentioned folks within the know.
The Connecticut, US-headquartered sandwich maker does enterprise in India by way of a number of regional grasp franchisees. Globally, the corporate is present process a restructuring underneath chief govt John Chidsey to maneuver headquarters, slash prices, and world headcount amid plummeting gross sales, warring franchisees, and rising hypothesis of a worldwide takeover.
When ET sought its remark, Subway mentioned: “It’s not our follow to touch upon present or potential franchisees.” Reliance Industries didn’t reply to an electronic mail searching for a remark.
The talks, if profitable, will present RIL retail unit a community of 600-odd Subway shops throughout India and assist additional diversify its Omni-channel initiatives to extra segments. Reliance Retail’s entry would additionally intensify competitors in India’s organized QSR market the place different gamers embrace world manufacturers like Domino’s Pizza, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and their native companions such because the Tata Group and the JubilantGroup.
Feelers have additionally gone out to non-public fairness gamers who have important meals and beverage publicity of their portfolio to accumulate Subway’s native franchisee operations, mentioned the folks.
In 2017, a number of Indian franchises of Subway had tried to hitch palms and create a platform and have been in talks with monetary buyers like TA Associates and ChrysCapital for a buy-in. However, these talks didn’t fructify.
The worldwide chain, which sells the favored “$5 footlongs” sandwiches, has been seeking to streamline and increase its India outpost by way of a partnership with a single dominant native participant as towards the present mannequin of regional grasp franchisees and their particular person networks.
Delhi-based Chetan Arora, Sachin Arora, Gulprit Gulri, Manpreet Gulri, Rishi Bajoria, and Rahul Bhalla are among the many main improvement brokers of Subway in India. Subway appoints grasp franchise or ‘improvement brokers’, who both immediately run clusters of shops or sub-franchise shops to smaller companions.
promoter Amit Burman’s Lite Chew Meals is one such associate.
Subway is owned and operated by Physician’s Associates. The corporate doesn’t personal a single location, however, collects 8% of income from every franchisee. In India, it controls about 6% share of India’s Rs 18,800 crore organized QSR market whereas Domino’s, the market chief, has a 21% share, adopted by McDonald’s with 11%.
