The results are out for Entrepreneur US’s 36th annual Franchise 500, wherein any franchised company with a minimum of ten units (and at least one in the US) can enter and be evaluated. The top three this year are familiar names, and their growth stats are jaw dropping.
1st place: Hamptons Hotels
Its hospitality culture called ‘Hamptonality’ has become an invaluable commodity that has aided the business in growing to 2 000 hotels in 16 countries with plans to open 400 hotels in China in the next few years.
2nd place: Anytime Fitness
The 24-hour brand signed up its two millionth member in January 2014 and went on to open nearly 350 new gyms, bringing its numbers to over 3 000 locations in 20 countries. It’s anticipated the fitness franchise will enter the billion dollar club in 2015 after closing 2014 with $900 million.
3rd place: Subway
This brand is growing so fast there’s a ticker on its website counting the number of units it has open. At the time of writing it was at over 43 544 restaurants in 110 countries and the company believes there’s still room for another 8 000 in the US alone. It’s not winning by numbers alone; it’s customers are enjoying all-day options in non-traditional locations like Walmart stores and hospitals.
