2024: a Golden Year for QSR Franchises
Whether you are currently a franchisor or are thinking of becoming one, there is a lot of reason for optimism. Last year saw both major and emerging franchises expand their footprint throughout Australia.
GapMaps, which provides cloud-driven analytics to help franchisors make informed decisions when choosing their store locations, recently released a report on the success of store openings by QSR (quick-service restaurant) franchises throughout Australia. Here are the key takeaways…
QSR Franchises are generally expanding
36 franchises are included in the report and roughly half, or 19, of them expanded with new store openings. Tellingly, that expansion was not only limited to the top 5 franchises, although the top franchises did grow significantly.
The top 5 QSR franchises continue to expand
Of the top 5 franchises, KFC opened the most stores, at 23. McDonald’s (19), Subway (17) and Hungry Jack’s (16) all expanded as well, with only Red Rooster shrinking by one store.
But the QSR franchise with the most store openings was outside the top 5
In 2024, the franchise who opened the most stores was Guzman Y Gomez, or GYG. GYG opened a total of 27 stores, as part of its ambitious expansion strategy. The franchise reportedly wants to expand to 1000 stores in the next 10 to 20 years, which is 5 times its current amount in Australia.
And other QSR franchises outside the top 5 expanded
Zambrero also expanded by 20 stores, surpassing all top 5 franchises other than KFC.
Honourable mention goes to Oporto (16), Sushi Hub (14), Sushi Sushi (11), plus Mad Mex, Betty’s Burgers and El Jannah (10 each).
Pizza Franchises Struggled (for the most part)
2024 was not especially kind to the major pizza franchises, with Domino’s experiencing a decline of 11 stores and Pizza hut declining by 1. Crust, on the other hand, did expand by 3 stores.
New stores opened all over Australia but Melbourne is far ahead of the pack
Sydney saw 31 new stores open, Brisbane opened 21, Perth opened 19, and Adelaide saw 4 new openings.
But Melbourne had far and away the most openings, at 55. This is likely explained by Melbourne’s growing population, with both newcomers to Australia and citizens within the country gravitating to the city.
48 new stores opened everywhere else in the country. So, while Melbourne saw the most growth, there was still significant expansion all over Australia.
Australians have more access to QSR franchises than ever before
82% of Australians live within 3 kilometres of the top 5 franchises, which may not be a surprise to many. However, people may be surprised to hear that 68% of Australians live within three kilometres of the other franchises (excluding the pizza and sushi franchises, which were categorized separately in the report). This means that franchises are increasingly diversifying and succeeding on a national scale.
It all bodes well for QSR franchisors. If you need legal assistance with your franchise, whether it be from conception to expansion, reach out to our experienced team. We can lend our expertise to ensure your franchise is well-positioned to thrive.
