Subway (restaurant)

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Subway
Type	Private
Founded	Bridgeport, Connecticut (1965)
Headquarters	Milford, Connecticut
Key people	Fred De Luca, President
Industry	Restaurants
Products	Sandwiches Salads Other food products
Revenue	$9.05 billion USD (2005)
Employees	150,000 (2003)
Slogan	Eat Fresh
Website	http://www.subway.com/

Subway is the name of a multinational restaurant franchise that mainly sells sandwiches and salads. It was founded in 1965 by Fred De Luca and Peter Buck. The corporate name of Subway is Doctor's Associates, Inc. (DAI). The company has over 27,200 franchised units in 86 countries ^[1] as of November 21, 2006 and is the fastest growing franchise in the world. This rapidly growing chain added over 2,000 locations in 2005.

Subway's main operations office is in Milford, Connecticut, and five regional centers support Subway's growing international operations. The regional office for Europe's 1,000 stores is in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Australia and New Zealand, with over 2,100 outlets, is supported from Brisbane, Australia. The 300 Middle Eastern locations are supported from Beirut, Lebanon. Singapore supports the 300+ Asian locations. The Latin American Support Center in Miami assists over 1,100 restaurants. In the UK and Ireland the company hopes to have 2,010 restaurants by the year 2010.

Many restaurant analysts attribute Subway's fast growth to the growing concern on health by restaurant customers, a trend that Subway has taken advantage of in its marketing. In 1999, an Indiana University student named Jared Fogle lost 245 pounds (110 kg) with a diet made up mostly of Subway sandwiches combined with exercise. The story is used by Subway as a large part of their marketing campaign. Jared has emerged as a spokesman for Subway, furthering their image as a health-conscious restaurant chain.

Contents 1 Operations 2 The Subway menu 3 The Sub Club 4 Criticism 5 Subway in popular culture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Operations

Subway uses the advertising slogan "Eat Fresh" to explain how every sandwich is made on freshly baked bread, using fresh ingredients, in front of the customer to their exact specification, by employees who Subway terms "sandwich artists".

In 2000, Subway added seasoned breads and a line of specialty items to its menu. In 2003 Subway switched from Pepsi products to Coca Cola products because Coca Cola paid for the new toaster ovens required for Subway's toasting option. Subway gave customers the option to have their sandwiches toasted in response to increased competition from rival sandwich chain Quiznos Sub, which popularized toasted sandwiches. In Australia, the introduction of Fresh Toasting enabled the Subway Franchise to prevent Quiznos from gaining market share. The Turbo Chef toaster is a microwave and convection oven hybrid.

In addition to traditional restaurants, Subway operates in many non-traditional locations. For instance, there are over 900 Subway locations inside of Wal-Mart stores and 200 on military bases, including several in Iraq, in addition to three located inside The Pentagon.

There is at least one adults-only Subway, located at Foxwoods Resort & Casino. It is accessible only after entering a gaming area which is restricted to guests 21 and over, it also has a drive thru.

In 2006, the first kosher Subway restaurant opened in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.[1] Jared Fogle, who is Jewish, was in attendance at the opening. Another kosher Subway opened in Brooklyn in 2007, another is to open in Los Angeles in the spring of 2007 and more are planned. All subway restaurants in Muslim countries serve Halal menu, There are also at least two Subway restaurants in the United States that do the same.

In addition to its corporate positioning as a more health-conscious restaurant, much of Subway's rapid growth can be attributed to its somewhat unique business model. Unlike most franchisers, the parent company does not operate any restaurants. Local franchisees operate the stores, and in most markets Subway enters into a contract with a franchisee to be its Development Agent for that market. The Development Agent is then responsible for developing new locations, evaluating stores on a monthly basis, and assisting franchisees with whatever needs they may have. 8% of sales at each location go to royalties, while 4.5% of sales go into a fund, the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, also known as SFAFT which is operated by a board of directors voted on by Subway Franchisees.

Among lawyers, Subway has become well-known for its aggressiveness in enforcing the arbitration clauses in its franchise agreements. One case even went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court (and the company won). See Doctor's Associates, Inc. v. Casarotto, 517 U.S. 681 (1996).

Subway is the corporate sponsor for two NASCAR Nextel Cup series stock car races: the Subway Fresh Fit 500, held at Phoenix International Raceway; and the Subway 500, held at Martinsville Speedway. In addition, Subway has been the primary sponsor of the NASCAR Nextel Cup number 16 car, driven by Greg Biffle. Biffle has appeared in advertising for Subway along with his Crew Chief Doug Richert. In 2007, Tony Stewart has appeared with Jared Fogel in ads, and it is likely that he will drive his #20 Home Depot Chevrolet with Subway primary sponsorship in the two Subway-sponsored races. Previously, Subway had sponsored Jeff Purvis' #51 car in at least one race in 2001. They also sponsor a pro-cycling team.

On July 2006, Private Label Radio (PLR), a division of DMI Music & Media Solutions, launched SUBWAY(R) RADIO, an exclusive in-store radio network. The program is currently installed in 30 states nationwide.

[edit] The Subway menu

Main article: Subway menu

Subway menus vary by store, by country and by state — in Muslim countries omitting ham and other pork coldcuts — but retain core items which are included at every store. The main food sold by the store is Submarine sandwiches, sold in Six-inch and Footlong sizes. All Subways offer customers lettuce, tomato, onions, green peppers, olives and pickles, as well as regionally selected toppings. Like other fast-food restaurants they offer limited time offers or LTO from time to time. In addition to their standard menu, Subway also offers catering for all types of occasions. They offer 3ft and 6ft subs while also offering a sandwich platter. These giant sandwiches can be ordered in bulk and to nearly any specification, something which Subway has promoted as a part of their campaign to personally tailor each and every sandwich to a customer's individual taste.

Subway also offers items other than sandwiches; breakfast items include such baked goods as bagels, and as of July and August 2006, the chain has recently added "personal pizzas" to their menu, which are made upon order (as with their sandwiches) and heated "in 90 seconds" as advertised on televised commercials. Breakfast and pizza items are only available in some stores.

Subway carries Coca-Cola soft drinks exclusively. In return for this deal, Coca-Cola provides a high-powered toaster to each location. These toasters idle at 800°C, go to over 1100°C, and can toast two foot-long sandwiches in 20 seconds.

[edit] The Sub Club

For many years, Subway restaurants offered a customer rewards program called the "Sub Club". Customers would receive special stamps with the purchase of a sandwich, earning one stamp for a six-inch sandwich and two for a foot-long; small cards called "Sub Club Cards" were also provided for customers to paste the stamps onto and keep them collected in an orderly fashion. Originally, stamps were redeemable for a free standard sandwich (charges for extras such as double meat or extra cheese still applied) with no other purchase required--twelve stamps for a free six-inch, and twenty-four stamps for a free foot-long. A Sub Club for kids was also established, with one stamp earned for every children's Value Meal purchased, ultimately earning a free children's meal for eight stamps. Later, the regular Sub Club was altered to eight stamps earning a free six-inch, and sixteen stamps for a free foot-long, with the added condition that a 21 ounce or larger drink must be purchased to redeem the stamps.

In early June 2005, Subway announced that the popular Sub Club customer rewards program would be phased out due to counterfeiting. Another reason, which was not stated by the company, for the discontinuation of the program was that there was a large amount of internal theft of stamps by Subway employees and affiliates, including the sale of rolls of the stamps online at places such as eBay. In the US, customers were able to get 40 cents per stamp during a phase-out period, but in the UK, staff were told to give out stamps until mid April 2006, and accept stamps until June 1st 2006, refusing them thereafter. In Australia, Sub Club stamps were no longer given out as of August 1, 2006. However, stamps could still be redeemed up until February 1, 2007. Each stamp gives the customer 50 cents off their purchase, with seven stamps receiving a free six-inch (along with the usual eight).

A new discount program has replaced the Sub Club program with an electronic swipe card, which can also be used as a gift/cash card. While most Subways were required to participate in the Sub Club program, each regional market was allowed to choose whether its stores would participate in the new electronic program. The vast majority of markets opted only to participate in the Cash Card portion of this program. In addition, in both Canada and the United Kingdom, the CAA discount was discontinued. Unredeemed paper gift certificates will be honored indefinitely.

[edit] Criticism

The 2001 book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser criticizes Subway's franchising policies. It claims that in the 1990s, Subway was involved in many legal disputes with franchisees, usually over encroachment (overly aggressive expansion, in which two restaurants are so close in location that they end up competing with one another) and high royalties. The DFNV (German Franchisee organization) is very critical of Subway's franchise conditions.

The book blames the "Development Agents" who are given the task of growing the company regionally. They retain a percentage of the franchise fee for their local area, and so it is in their best interest to saturate markets with Subway restaurants in a region, despite the effect it will have on that region's Subway locations. Although this may lead to lower profits per Subway location, it leads to overall higher profits in the region, and therefore higher profits for the entire chain and the DA himself.

Subway is also criticized by nutritionists, who claim that Subway sells 'trick food' and hides the fact that many of its food items contain high levels of calories, fooling customers by the "less than 6 grams of fat" signs commonly shown in ads or in stores worldwide.^{[citation needed]} In the small print, there is the disclaimer that the 6 grams of fat does not include cheese, or condiments such as mayonnaise, although this is clearly noted in the nutritional information section of their website.

Furthermore, Subway is inconsistent with their comparison advertisements. As explained previously, Subway never includes cheese, mayo, or other high fat condiments in their sandwiches' nutritional content. But when they compare their sandwiches to that of fast food sandwiches (such as the Big Mac and Whopper) in their advertisements and on their napkins, their nutritional content is taken straight from their competitor's nutrition information, which in the case of McDonald's and Burger King, always includes their standard condiments, including cheese (Big Mac) and mayo (Whopper). Even the name of Subway's parent company, Doctor's Associates, has been seen as misleading customers into thinking that Subway's food is endorsed by doctors.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Subway in popular culture

Subway began appearing in movies and television heavily during the mid-1990s.

• In the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, the characters Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson), Roger Murtaugh (played by Danny Glover) and Leo Getz (played by Joe Pesci) go to a Subway drive thru. However Leo is mistakenly given a Tuna sandwich which he does not like to eat. This resulted in Leo going into a tantrum including Leo saying the well known catchphrase "they fuck you at the drive thru".
• In the 1993 parody film Hot Shots! Part Deux, a Subway appears in Tibet, from which Richard Crenna's character orders a "pig-snout sandwich". An HBO spoof documentary of the making of the film, The Making of Hot Shots! Part Deux: A Filmmakers' Apology, also features the restaurant, which director Jim Abrahams supposedly works at while the film's production is shut down. Producer Pat Proft orders a sandwich from him.
• In the 1993 Saturday Night Live spin-off film Coneheads, the characters portrayed by Chris Farley and Michelle Burke dine at a Subway, wherein Burke's character, Connie Conehead, appears to eat an entire "footlong" sandwich in four to five bites.
• In 1993 film The Beverly Hillbillies, the character Jethro orders a 6ft long subway sandwich.
• In 1995, Subway teamed up with the producers of the Jim Carrey film Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls for product placement advertising (a billboard advertising the chain can be seen as Carrey's character drives through Africa). At the time, Subway ads also featured trivia from the movie.
• The Adam Sandler comedy film Happy Gilmore, released in 1996, featured Sandler's character Happy Gilmore using his celebrity status as a golfing pro to sell Subway sandwiches. Included in his commercial is the "cold cut combo" sandwich. As compensation for the commercial, Gilmore receives a fictional "free Subway for life" card, allowing him to eat free at any Subway restaurant. In addition, the Gilmore character can be seen with Subway t-shirts and even a Subway sponsored golf bag throughout the film.
• Near the end of the 2002 Mike Myers film Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin saw Fat Bastard lose a great deal of his signature weight after going on the "Subway diet," an obvious parody of that which was undertaken by Jared Fogle.
• In the 2004 movie Collateral, Jamie Foxx can be seen eating a Subway sandwich while he sits in his taxi.
• In the 2005 movie Just Friends, one of the lines by Mr. Palamino (Barry Flatman) says: "How did you lose all that weight? Like that retard from Subway did?" This is a reference to Subway spokesman Jared Fogle.
• Subway has long had a sponsorship deal with World Wrestling Entertainment that continues to this day. In 2002, after the WWE split up its rosters into two brands, the GM's of those two brands at the time (Eric Bischoff for WWE Raw and Stephanie McMahon for WWE SmackDown!) were in a dispute over the one being on each other's show, as well as the show's respective roster during the two brand's free agency period. Upset that Stephanie showed an ad for SmackDown! during a Raw commercial break, Bischoff fired back later that week by appearing in an "ad" for Subway during a commercial break for SmackDown!, with Bischoff saying how much he loves Subway and was eating a sub during the "ad". In 2006, WWE Champion John Cena starred in two Subway commercials: one where he meets a kid back stage with a Subway sandwich, and another where he meets Jared Fogle
• Subway has closely associated itself with fitness programs such as The Biggest Loser and has been one of the program's largest sponsors since its debut in 2004.
• In a 2005 episode of Arrested Development, Tony Wonder (Ben Stiller) tells Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) and G.O.B. Bluth (Will Arnett) to "have a free round of drinks courtesy of Tony Wonder." He then produces a half-completed Sub Club card.
• Subway subs are a favorite treat for Rosario Salazar, a character on the sitcom Will & Grace. In the live eighth-season opener (September 2005), she was seen eating a Subway chicken parmesan sub, which had been heavily advertised in TV ads around that time.
• Comedian Mitch Hedberg referenced Subway in a number of stand-up jokes, including one joke about ducks and how they eat for free at Subway. Hedberg would later become the voice in commercials for the competing Jimmy Johns sandwiches.^{[citation needed]}
• In a 2002 episode of South Park, Jared Fogle comes to town to promote the Subway diet, and admits that in addition to eating Subway, he hired aides to help him lose weight. Misunderstanding him, the town thought that he had AIDS, the immune deficiency disease.
• In the 2005 game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories an obvious parody of the brand, Tube, is visible in Portland, specifically during the opening cut-scene.
• In a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, titled Bart vs. Australia which parodied stereotypical Australian culture, a series of slides were shown in the episode. One of which was a Subway restaurant, advertising their new Vegemite sub.
• In a 2002 episode of Friends, titled The One With the Rumor guest star Brad Pitt's character, who was previously overweight, remarked "I'm going to be in one of those Subway sandwich commercials."
• In the season 17 Halloween episode (titled "Treehouse of Horror: XVI") of The Simpsons, one of the segments featured all the residents of Springfield being transformed into a literal interpretation of the costume they were wearing. Police chief Clancy Wiggum was dressed up as Jared Fogle.

[edit] See also

• Jared Fogle
• Jon Lovitz

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Subway (official site)
• Glatt Kosher Subway opening in Los Angeles in Summer 2007
• SandwichGuide.co.uk Reviews Subway Sandwiches
• Subway's teen comedy site