Restaurants Look to Emerging Global Markets for Growth

Restaurant sales and traffic in the U.S. have been sputtering for the past couple of years. While the overall number of stateside restaurant units dropped in the year ended September 2016, according to The NPD Group, chains saw their unit counts rise, despite reduced demand. Many chains are looking to emerging markets overseas to realize higher growth rates than back home. But these international destinations may not be the ones you expect. Look beyond China to India China is the whale of the Asian restaurant market, with big U.S. chains established there for decades. But the more exciting story is India. The country has a population of more than 1 billion people and a rapidly growing middle class. The Indian restaurant market is expected to grow at a rate of 15 percent in the future, according to Ernst & Young. In 2001, Subway opened its first location in India, in New Delhi. This Mar