Subway revealed it should tweak its advertising and marketing technique because it grapples with a latest downturn in gross sales — switching from selling snacks to providing worth meals, based on sources who attended a convention name with franchisees.
CEO John Chidsey mentioned on Thursday that Subway starting Aug. 26 will launch a $6.99 promotion for a unique foot-long sub each day for on-line orders. The promotion is anticipated to start with a two-week run.
That would quantity to a reduction of greater than 50% on some days. At full value, a foot-long Titan Turkey sub is priced at $11.89 and The Beast is $13.99 in some New York Metropolis places.
Whereas the chain lately has been hawking buy-one-get-one-free sub promotions, there can be no requirement to purchase two sandwiches for the low cost, executives mentioned.
Subway tried a $7.99 foot-long promotion in Los Angeles, the corporate mentioned within the name, but it surely didn’t drive sufficient visitors in order that they have determined to drop the value by one other greenback.
The corporate can also be planning to supply a triple play: a four-inch sandwich, soup, chips and two cookies for $6.
A Subway spokesperson declined to touch upon Thursday.
Subway is experiencing similar retailer gross sales declines in sure areas of greater than 8% in latest weeks in comparison with final yr, nicely worse than friends like McDonald’s and Burger King, The Post reported exclusively this week.
In the course of the convention, Subway mentioned the highest 20% of eating places had same-store gross sales that had been 5% higher than final yr.
Rival McDonald’s has prolonged its $5 worth meal into October placing strain on Subway throughout a time much less customers are going to fast-food eating places.
For the previous couple of months, Subway has been closely selling Dippers snacks (with flavors like pepperoni and cheese) for $3 every. The expectation was clients would purchase subs and the Dippers. However the Dippers will not be promoting.
“They’re eliminating Dippers. That was a horrible thought,” a Subway restaurant proprietor informed The Publish.
Chidsey pressured the necessity to deal with core menu gadgets, sources mentioned.
The CEO made it sound just like the model was in a dire scenario, the proprietor mentioned.
“He mentioned this downturn within the fast service restaurant trade occurs each eight to 10 years and Subway must set itself up for 2026 and past.”
Franchisees posed some hard-hitting questions within the chat field like how these promotions may very well be worthwhile for operators, however Chidsey didn’t reply them, the proprietor mentioned.
Subway owns none of its personal shops and plenty of franchisees are barely turning a revenue, sources mentioned.
