The fast food sector has opened 174 more stores than it closed over the last 12 months, an extra 17 outlets compared to last year.

GapMaps has released its latest annual Fast Food & Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Retail Network Report, tracking store openings and closures in Australia.

The report reveals that for the 12 months ending 30 June 2023, 336 new stores opened and 162 closed in the 29 brands it monitored.

The final April quarter saw a surge in store openings with 114 stores opened and 55 closed. The net change was a 34 per cent rise of the annual total.

Fast food stores 2023- which brands grew?

Sushi Hub and Guzman Y Gomez reported a net increase of 21 stores each over the 12 months.
GYG also had the biggest increase in the final quarter with 10 net new stores.

Fellow Mexican chain Zambrero added seven net restaurants, while Sushi Hub and Noodle Box both increased their footprint by six stores.

Pizza giant Dominos grew by 18 outlets over the year. However it reported a net decrease of four stores in the last quarter.

There was a surge of new stores in the burger market as brands with a network of about 50 outlets ramped up their presence. Betty’s Burgers, Carl’s Jr and Patty Smith’s added 10, nine and six stores respectively.

Other brands saw double digit growth in net new stores over the year. KFC added 16, Noodle Box opened another 14 and Grill’d boosted its footprint by 13 stores.

Locations remain key for fast food chains

GapMaps’ senior analyst Scott Johnson said “There is still a lot of movement across all fast food and QSR sectors as brands adjust their store portfolios in what is still a changing landscape and economic environment.

“Despite 336 store openings in the 12-month period, the 162 closures show that finding optimum locations is still a priority for all brands. That said, 174 new net stores is very positive and illustrates strong growth and confidence across the sector.”

Only three brands contracted their store numbers over the 12 months: Nando’s (-5), Red Rooster and Sushi Sushi (-1 each).
Hungry Jacks, Rosie’s Chicken, Chicken Treat and Pizza Capers saw no change to their total footprint.

“Despite a challenging economic environment, the April quarter showed strong growth with 59 net new stores added,” Johnson said.

“This is a good indicator that the fast food and QSR sector is growing. With access to the right datasets, cannibilisation of existing stores can be avoided.”

This latest report is available to download here.

This story was originally published on Franchise Executives.