Quick service restaurants (QSR) in Australia have grown by 179 stores during 2022, shows new data by GapMaps.
GapMaps’ 2022 Annual Fast Food & Quick Service Restaurant Retail Network Report found that while 122 stores closed across the country, 301 stores were opened, resulting in a net change of 179 additional stores across 29 brands.
Scott Johnson, Senior Analyst at GapMaps, said that the report reflects increased store development activity as the country continues to emerge from the Covid restrictions that hit brands in 2021.
“Undoubtedly, we have seen a resilient QSR sector in 2022 which, despite the pandemic, saw store sales increase by 20-30 per cent in the same period, and in the last three months of 2022, saw 76 new store openings versus 20 store closures.”
Despite more closures than openings last year, Subway maintains the largest network with a total of 1,229 stores.
McDonald’s has the highest total network sales thanks to its relatively high average store sales and second-largest store network (1,049 locations), with coffee and breakfast generating extra store sales that other brands (with the exception of Hungry Jacks and, more recently, Gusman Y Gomez) do not offer.
Posting the highest store growth was Domino’s, which opened 34 stores in 2022, increasing its network to 754 stores, with a focus of growth in major cities (+17 stores) and in cities with less than 20,000 residents (+10 stores).
When it came to cities, Melbourne edged out Sydney with 41 new store openings to Sydney’s 28, while Perth and Adelaide both recorded 27.
“This store activity in Melbourne may be attributed to limited growth or temporary closures observed across Covid-19. But it is also reflective of rapid population growth within Melbourne’s growth areas,” explains Johnson.
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