“I want to complete the pilot, evaluate its profitability and after learning, give us space to understand if it makes sense in Mexico in the long term. I believe that it will work in places where you are not very safe and that, at a given moment, you can grab the box and take it to another place. We have to see what happens,” he explains.
Subway is also preparing to install some dark kitchens in several cities of the country, after having good results in Mexico City. One of these exclusive kitchens for the delivery It will be in Cuautitlán Izcalli, while the company is evaluating locations in Tijuana and Guadalajara.
The strong bet for the sandwich chain is the installation of restaurants with Drive Thru, this shopping service from the car that became popular during the pandemic, but that requires a greater investment, although the benefits are clear, because they manage to double sales.
Under these concepts, and the Subway to Go, which they have deployed in bus stations and will expand to airports, the director of the chain sees room to double the number of units in 10 years. For now, the plan is to add 40 new stores in the remainder of the year to close at 806, and cut the bar of 50 more in 2023, hand in hand with the franchisees.
Regarding the remodeling of the stores towards the Fresh Forward concept, which was announced in 2018, Villarreal estimates that this year they will move 70 to this model, in addition to the 60 that already have a digital menu, a different distribution in the stores and connections Wifi. The objective is to achieve the transformation of all the units by 2026.