Case Study 1

Case 1: Subway Sandwich Shops

The Company (Center all headings, NO BOLD)

Subway was founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck. The corporate name of Subway is Doctor's Associates, Inc. (DAI). The company is considered as the largest submarine sandwich chain which has over 26,500 franchised units in 86 countries and is the fastest growing franchise in the world. This rapidly growing chain added over 2,000 locations in 2005. It is a privately held company where local franchisees operate the stores. Over the years of operation Subways has increased in sales and income by the millions. Sales increased from 500 million in 1987 to over 2 billion in 1992 (Case 1, 2007). The Company continues to expand non-traditional units while increasing children's marketing. In 2003, the SUBWAY chain beat its all time record for the number of franchises sold in a single year and its outlet sales continue to be extremely strong. The SUBWAYÐ'® chain aims to increase the number of outlets it has in the UK and Ireland to over 2,010 stores by 2010. In 2006, the SUBWAYÐ'® chain was once again named the Number One Franchise Opportunity in Entrepreneur Magazine's Ð''Franchise 500' rankings. This is the 14th time the company has won this prestigious award (Subway Fact Sheet, n.d.). The year 2006 has marked the SUBWAYÐ'® chain its 41st year of operation. As a matter of fact, the SUBWAYÐ'® chain operates more units in the US, Canada and Australia than McDonald's does. There are countless awards and accolades to add to Subway's achievement list.

The Product

Subway is best known for its customized six-inch or footlong, submarine sandwiches. It gained full wide attention when it started toasting their bread for the sandwiches. All Subways offer customers lettuce, tomato, onions, green peppers, olives and pickles, as well as regionally selected toppings.