The CEO Magazine Asia - February 2018

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pair our new ideas with new sandwiches
and beverages.”
With more innovation than you can poke
a stick at in terms of both place and product,
Pavel has found that delicate balance between
protecting the Subway legacy that everyone
recognises worldwide. He’s doing whatever
he can to modernise and maintain its
relevance as a leading QSR chain. Which
is why, despite adding new items to the
menu, adopting digital ordering kiosks and
implementing vegetable displays behind the
counter, the trademark Subway ordering
process of being able to customise your own
sandwich remains unchanged.
Historically, Subway has to a large extent
been developed out of its US headquarters.
This is something Pavel says is changing as
the company shoots for long-term success in
Asia–Pacific. “As we are moving the decision
making from headquarters to the regional
or market level, we need a very different
corporate organisation, with different skill
sets and capabilities,” he explains.
“We need to build those local and
regional teams within the next two to
three years. The US and Canada have
approximately 2,500 food service
establishments per million capita, but in
Asian markets like Thailand or Japan, that
figure is around 7,000 to 8,000. In South
Korea, it’s 12,000.”
Naturally, this means more intense
competition for Subway. Perhaps, more than
any other industry, the QSR space continues
to move at lightning speed. Brands unable
to keep up usually flash then disappear in a
blink of an eye. Pavel says only a handful of
global players manage to retain their presence
and grow their share. He remains undeniably
confident Subway will be one of them.
“We see what lies ahead of us. We choose
to be persistent. We’ve already seen great
examples of other brands that achieved very
high levels of penetration, very high level
of sales and presence in the food service
industry. We have no reason not to match
or even beat that success.”

Subway India has 10 vegetarian-inspired sandwiches,

almost half of the 21 it offers to customers.

SUBWAY SANDWICHES

ACROSS ASIA–PACIFIC

India

• Aloo Patty (potato cake)


• Paneer Tikka (cottage cheese slices)

Japan

• Smoked Salmon and Mascarpone


• Shrimp Avocado

Australia

• Classic Chicken


• BMT (pepperoni, salami and ham)

Taiwan

• Western Egg


• Cold Cut Combo