Subway Is Dead (and It Knows It)
The rise and fall of the global sandwich giant.
In 1965, 17-year-old entrepreneur Fred DeLuca started his very own sandwich company in Connecticut, United States. Backed by investor Peter Buck, the pair started trading under the name ‘Pete’s Super Submarines’ before changing the name two years later to Subway.
Since its debut back in the sixties, Subway has grown to become one of the biggest names in the fast food industry and has the most locations out of any of its competitors, with close to 42,000 outlets worldwide compared to McDonald’s 39,000.
However, after half a century of success, Subway is starting to see a decline in popularity as more and more consumers choose to either cook at home or visit a rival restaurant. In 2019, Subway closed more than 1,000 stores in the U.S.A. alone, while McDonald’s closed just 68 during the same period.
So, what does the future hold for the sandwich giant, and what has it done to recover from these tough times?
How it all started
In the beginning, Subway’s new approach proved to be a hit with the American people. They advertised under the slogan, ‘The way a sandwich should be’ and people saw the store as a place where they could get quality food at a reasonable price.
