Sub-Liminable
We've called the race . . . and this time there's no dispute. In this year's Franchise 500, Subway is No. 1.
Once upon a time, in the land of hamburgers and pizza, a
submarine sandwich came on the scene--charming everybody in town
with its fresh-baked bread and savory meats. Steadily, the
submarine sandwich grew to prominence in the land and proved itself
to be a formidable competitor to typical fast-food fare, all while
courageously defeating the evil queen.
Sound like a beautiful fairy tale? It really happened to
Subway, the
leader in the submarine sandwich franchise business (OK, everything
except the evil queen part).
It was 1996 when Subway last found itself in the coveted No. 1
position in our listing. At that time, when founder Fred DeLuca was
asked to look into the future and predict where he thought Subway
was going, he said, "We'll see truly explosive
growth." And from the looks of it, DeLuca was right on the
money.
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So what is Subway doing to ensure a bright future five, 10, even
20 years from now? "We're focused on building our customer
base further through product improvements and increased store
distribution," says DeLuca.
Explosive growth has indeed occurred: Subway saw the addition of
more than 600 new franchises last year, as well as a 16 percent
increase in store sales volume. "We made our menu more
exciting than it's been in years," says Subway director of
franchise sales Don Fertman. "[We have] our new Subway Select
line of gourmet sauces and sandwiches and our low-fat line of
sandwiches, as well as the increased [presence] of our advertising,
which has made people notice Subway all over again."
Nobody could have possibly missed, for example, the prominent
Subway ad that ran last year featuring Jared Fogle, who lost 245
pounds eating Subway sandwiches. "We're the kings when it
comes to eating healthier," says Fertman, "and [the food]
tastes good." With the popularity of the "7 Under 6"
menu (seven sandwiches with 6 grams of fat or less), many see
Subway as a fresh and healthy alternative to greasy burgers.
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