Talk the talk

Subway sandwich chain franchise holder Paul Murphy talks to David Clerkin.

I understand you now own three Subway outlets. What made you get into the business?

We have three Subway restaurants in Galway - Forster Street, just off Eyre Square; Salthill; and Dominick Street. My business partner is from the States and he originally came to me with the idea of Subway in 2000. We thought Galway was the best option. There were only two Subways open in the Republic at the time, now there are over 30 and rising monthly.

What makes for a successful franchise?

If you look at the successful franchises around the world they seem to have brought something to a particular market at what seemed to be the right time. Many franchises are ideas whose time has come. This in evident in the food and restaurant industry in recent years with regard to Subway and a healthier lifestyle being seen as a goal for many people.

Most franchises need a degree of support and back-up from the Master Franchise owner - that is not there if you are on your own.

Why did you go for Subway and not another franchise? What’s so attractive about the sandwich business?

I don’t think there is anything more attractive about the sandwich business than other food concerns. What is attractive about Subway is that the breads which are sold are baked in store each day and these and the fresh ingredients which go into the sandwich make it a little more unique than your ordinary ham sandwich or chip buttie. Secondly the initial investment is a little more manageable for someone trying to get into business for the first time.

Any concerns sandwiches may just be a fad and that people’s habits will change?

There are 23,000 Subways in the world, with Subway the number one franchise for 13 of the last 17 years in the Entrepreneur Magazine’s top 500 franchises. At some stage in the future we may all be eating three square meals a day in the shape of one tablet in the morning, but until that happens people will be eating sandwiches for a long tome to come.

What have been the biggest obstacles involved in getting started?

At the beginning, brand recognition in Galway was a problem. This is no longer the case, as more and more stores open and people travel a good deal more than they used to.

The biggest ongoing obstacles are the rules and regulations which a small business has to try and live under in Ireland. The service industry, rather than being helped, is practically attacked.

How big an issue is staffing and other input costs?

Staffing is less of an issue than it used to be, because many people from across Europe are now living in Ireland and very happy to take what work they can find at rates that are way above what they get at home. Input costs are high because of the cost of trying to be in business in Ireland, taking into account that officials we deal with in government bodies frankly don’t care whether we are in existence or not.