Subwaycase Study

Case study - Subway Chain

Subway sandwich chain has overtaken the Golden Arches of McDonald's as the largest restaurant operation in the world, as determined by the number of locations. Subway reported 33,749 restaurants in 95 countries, at end of 2010. McDonald's recorded 32,737 locations in 117 countries in an audit in February 2011, with more than 75% of its restaurants being franchised. Subway is entirely franchisee-owned, which has underpinned its success.

Subway has been gaining on McDonald's for years and had fewer than 30,000 locations as recently as 2008. Its smaller format cost less to open and operate than other chain restaurants and lets it squeeze into heavily trafficked locations McDonald's must bypass.

The race for global dominance is an important one for an industry that's mostly saturated in the U.S. High unemployment and economic uncertainty have battered the restaurant industry in the U.S., and chains are increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly in Asia. Subway, which opened its first international restaurant in 1984, in Bahrain, expects its number of international restaurants to exceed its domestic ones by 2020. However, the growing number of Subway restaurant overseas does not earn enough revenue to outpace McDonalds, which still holds the top position as the world's largest restaurant chain in terms of sales.

http://thecspn.com/?p=1184

Present a 30 minute presentation inclusive of the 90 seconds video

Question 1

Explain the role of market research in the choice of locations for Subway.

4 mins

Question 2

Analyse the impact of overseas location on Subway's promotion strategy.

4 mins

Question 3

Evaluate the use of franchising as an international growth strategy for Subway.

1. Suggest a perfect location in Singapore for Subway to start a restaurant. Justify your choice. (This has to be in line with Subway’s strategy of “convenient, out-of-the-ordinary store locations”.)

2. Produce a video to promote your...