Subway and Yogurtland Blanket the Tri-Valley
In an otherwise challenging retail environment, Subway and Yogurtland have thrived over the past few years with new franchises popping up all over the Tri-Valley:
- Hot off the success of their value priced “$5 foot long” deal, Subway plans to open a new franchise restaurant in Dublin at the Shops at Tralee (next to Extreme Pizza). This will be Subway’s third restaurant in Dublin – all concentrated within a 1.9 mile stretch of west Dublin. Subway also just opened a shop in the Trader Joe’s shopping center – within steps of a Quizno’s shop.
- Yogurtland has thrived in a tough economy as consumers look for “affordable luxuries.” While they just opened a shop next to Whole Foods in San Ramon at the Shops at Bishop Ranch, Yogurtland will also be opening another franchise in Downtown Dublin next to Safeway.
Unquestionably, the surge in Subway and Yogurtland franchise openings has provided a short-term boost for the local Tri-Valley economy by soaking up excess retail space and providing jobs; however, the concentration of the openings poses two major long-term challenges:
- Sugar-High Economic Boost – Subway and Yogurtland headquarters take a cut off the top of all sales and also provide support services outside of the Tri-Valley area. This means that out of every dollar spent at Subway and Yogurtland, only a fraction stays here in the Tri-Valley with most of the profit sent off to Subway and Yogurtland headquarters. The local economy gets a quick boost on each sale, but the benefit quickly dissipates.
- Bare-Knuckled Brawl Between Franchisees – franchisees bought their shops with the belief that they would have exclusive territorial rights. The existing Subway shop owners will both lose business to the new Subway opening a few blocks away at Tralee. By the same token, the Yogurtland owners in San Ramon and Dublin will duke it out over the same customers and also cannibalize sales.
While healthy competition is always good, the concentration of Subway and Yogurtland franchise openings could result in all franchises struggling and none left standing.
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10:12 AM on August 29th, 2009
Is there an update on the Whole Foods? Are they still scheduled for 2010?
12:36 PM on August 29th, 2009
It’s too bad these companies are “cannibalizing” themselves like this. However, I’m sure it is spelled out in the Franchise agreement how far out they can open another store.
I opened a “Help-U-Sell” Real Estate office in Pleasanton back in 2002 when there were only a dozen or so in all of Northern California. In my agreement it said they could not open another one within one mile, but I was assured “off the record” that if my office was productive they would not open another one in Pleasanton as there wasn’t enough “density”. In other words a mile apart in San Francisco would have more homes then a mile apart here.
I spent a year and a half and spent tens of thousands of dollars establishing the Help-U-Sell name and then I find out they sold another franchise in Pleasanton. So now the new Franchisee had all the built in marketing and exposure that I had developed. Another two months later they had two more in Livermore, one in San Ramon, one in Danville and almost 90 in Northern California.
I decided to get out and sold my franchise in September of 2005 as I could see the company was doomed to failure with the over supply of offices. As of today Help-U-Sell Corporate is in bankruptcy and many of the offices have gone out of business or have left the franchise all together.
There are advantages and disadvatages to owning a franchise and people really need to explore all the options before purchasing one.
John DeKoven
Bunjo’s Comedy Club
6513 Regional St – Dublin
http://www.bunjoscomedy.com
2:20 PM on August 29th, 2009
What a way to put a negative spin on things. We should be celebrating that people are opening up businesses in Dublin. There are Starbucks and Jamba Juices at nearly every corner, too, but nobody seems to be complaining about these.
3:30 PM on August 29th, 2009
It’s not a negative spin, it’s reality. Just because stores open doesn’t mean it’s good for business. If it were different businesses that weren’t in the area I would agree, but having three Subways within less then two miles will not help those Subway stores. It will just divert money from one to another. Just like in real estate it might be good for a while, but then it can crash. FYI depending on what articles you read Starbucks has closed 300 to 600 stores this year and layed off 7000 people.
11:03 PM on August 29th, 2009
And Starbucks is not a franchise.
4:00 PM on August 30th, 2009
It’s no secret that the author(s) of the Around Dublin blog are personal friends of the owner(s) of Blush. The factoids about YogurtLand are intentionally meant to steer people away from Yogurtland and toward Blush, since Blush isn’t a franchise.
Think about it……
8:29 PM on August 30th, 2009
Hi Anonymous,
You are absolutely right. The Around Dublin Team considers Blush owner Jonathan Rim a pillar in the Tri-Valley community who happens to be a personal friend. We have tremendous respect for the generous and sustained support Blush gives to local schools and mommy groups. What people may not realize is that we also have a personal connection to a Yogurtland Franchisee and have experienced Yogurtland’s offerings for ourselves. Blush and Yogurtland have two different business models that offer two distinct customer experiences, and we wish the West Dublin franchisee and the San Ramon franchisee the best.
9:21 AM on August 31st, 2009
I wish there were more truly local food businesses in Dublin. However, I definitely prefer Yogurtland over Blush, and I’m glad to see one closer to home!
9:50 PM on August 30th, 2009
A Subway opening at Tralee huh. If I am correct there is a Subway 1 block away from there , at a liquor store next to Ryneck Tire. That would suck for that francishee owner.
I wouldnt buy a franchise unless they had boundary limits like Papa Murphys has a 5 mile boundary.
11:41 AM on September 1st, 2009
I prefer Yogurtland to Blush. When I went to Blush it was AWFUL customer service. I would never go back again!!!
12:25 PM on September 1st, 2009
Hi Anonymous,
Would you mind providing a little more detail about the “AWFUL customer service” experience you had at Blush and specifying exactly what you found unacceptable? Like any successful entrepreneur, owner Jonathan Rim is fiercely committed to customer satisfaction, so I am confident Jonathan would be very grateful for any constructive feedback you may have for him and his team.
Based on our personal experiences and the experiences of our friends and family, Blush always gets high marks when it comes to customer service. Our personal experience is also consistent with Blush’s 323 reviews and counting on Yelp. Of the 323 Yelp reviews, 270 are at least 4 stars as of September 1, 2009 12:18PM PDT. For an establishment that is barely one-year-old, that number of positive reviews is incredible.
8:43 PM on September 1st, 2009
I’m not the person who commented that the customer service was awful, but I’d concur that it was definitely not the best. The owner promised us free yogurt if we came at a certain day at a certain time. We did. He was nowhere to be found. It was just as well, because we tried a free sample and it was awful. I understand a lot of people like Blush, but it’s not for everyone. I’m a health nut and I thought it tasted horrible. How Blush succeeded with that product, and how Yogurt Castle (Blush’s predecessor) failed with a superior product is beyond me.
But who cares what I think, Blush is an astounding success.
9:25 AM on September 2nd, 2009
I haven’t been there, but a friend told me to avoid it. She says when you pay for one topping, they sprinkle it all around the sides of the bowl, but if you pay for two toppings, which is double the price, they put one topping around one half the bowl and the other around the other half, which is the same amount of topping you get when you pay for one. A rip off. I may try it someday, but I really love Yogurt Shack in Danville and Yogurtland in San Ramon, where there are many more flavors and toppings and you pay by weight.
12:00 AM on December 29th, 2009
They started the construction of the Yogurtland. The Contractor is DH Construction out Chino Hills http://www.dhcinc.net Whoot Whoot
3:46 PM on September 2nd, 2009
It’s sad to see people who think franchises are not true local businesses. As a local franchise owner, that comment really stings. As far as I’m concerned, I’m paying my mortgage and monthly bills with income from my franchise as well as supporting my local Dublin community. I would appreciate the respect of folks and the understanding that just because we own franchises, doesn’t mean we don’t need all the support we can get from folks living in Dublin.
These comments make it seem like we are doing a disservice if we support franchises instead of “true” locally owned businesses. As far as I’m concerned, this is not a time to divide the city. We should all support all of the businesses that are trying to make it in this rough economy, franchises or not.
As far as Yogurtland, West Dublin vs Bishop Ranch in San Ramon are very far away from each other. I don’t see why it would cause any problems opening up a Yogurtland in Dublin. I highly doubt the San Ramon store will suffer. As far as Yogurtland vs Blush, this type of competition occurs in all industries, not just frozen yogurt. It’s part of the business world, you will always have competitors. Subway is a little out of hand, although if no other business owners step forward to occupy spaces in Tralee, then Subway it is.
8:17 PM on September 2nd, 2009
Hi Anonymous – franchises are absolutely local businesses and are usually owned by entrepreneurs living close to their establishments. We are fortunate to have business owners like yourself in Dublin (or the Tri-Valley) that are successful, provide community leadership, jobs, and contribute to the prosperity of the local community.
The main point of the Subway and Yogurtland article was to note that having the same franchise or similar establishments so close together makes things difficult for the franchisees and eventually the city once/if one of the franchises closes down from the cannibalization of sales. A secondary point relates to the local multiplier effect that notes how dollars generated by locally owned businesses that reinvest their money locally increases the amount of money flowing in the local area.
No Hard Feelings, John Z.
7:33 AM on September 3rd, 2009
I remember when WCW decided to put their Nitro show against WWF’s Raw show at the same time on the same night. People thought it would split the wrestling audience in half. Instead, both audiences doubled because of the exposure and competition it brought. If Yogurtland opened up show right next door to Blush, it could either split the yogurt buying public, or put a spotlight on frozen yogurt and create a whole new audience that allows both stores to thrive. It’s a very interesting dynamic, and sometimes competition is good. It’s when the market gets diluted that things start to fall apart. Right now, Dublin is not diluted by cold cuts and frozen yogurt just yet.
6:10 PM on August 30th, 2009
There’s nothing wrong with supporting non-franchises or “true” local businesses, but I agree that there is some bias. Just in the last 18 months, so many frozen yogurt places popped up – San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore – but yet there’s a focus on Yogurtland. What about just saying that having 5-10 frozen yogurt places within 10 minutes of each other is a bad idea?
7:49 PM on August 30th, 2009
Hi Anonymous 8/30 4pm and 6:10pm – I included both Yogurtland and Subway in this article because they have the recent openings. As mentioned in the article, these openings are fantastic in the near-term because they take up vacant retail space, generate tax revenue, and provide entry level jobs. They provide an economic boost at a time when Dublin and the entire Tri-Valley could use economic stimuli. The rest of the article describes the long-term impacts that were also covered in a similar article talking about the Local Multiplier Effect. Here’s the link if you’re interested: http://www.arounddublinblog.com/2009/02/virtuous-cycle-of-buying-from-locally/
Thx, John Z.