1. Case Study: Subway
Case Study: SubwaySubway is a fast food restaurant that serves salads and sandwiches-
famously known as submarine sandwiches. It is located in 98 countries placing it among the
fastest growing fast food chains in the world and also the largest single-brand fast food
chain restaurant in the world (Swift 10). Their main office is situated in Milford,
Connecticut. The company has a target of increasing to 2,010 the number of their
restaurants in Ireland and United Kingdom only. Its owners are the Doctor associates who
are also the head of operations. In addition to their main product, the sub, the subway also
serves products including muffins, donuts, and wraps but these vary according to the
market and the country the restaurant is situated in.CompetitorsSubway’ s main
competitors are McDonalds and the Yum! Brands. McDonalds, by virtue of being ahead of
Subway in revenue by the end of 2010, Subway is ranked the most popular fast food chain
in America. Yum! Brands are ranked as the largest restaurant operator in the world placing
Subway as the second largest. Other chief competitors include Pizza hut, KFC, Eat and
Greggs.Market SituationSubway is ranked as the leading in the sub and sandwich
restaurants. It does include healthier foods in its menu helping to distinguish it from the
traditional fast food restaurants by the fact that it gives much attention to diabetes and
obesity. This has been one of the main attractions of customers to Subway (Siriwardena,
4)Positioning StrategySubway chains are well positioned to address the threats that face
them, leveraging their strength while adequately dealing with their opportunities and
weaknesses. Subway has an advantage in its opportunities as it can grow stronger in the
sandwiches market as the consumer interest is swiftly shifting to this market. Subway has
been positioning its market by focusing their attention to building a brand that is based on a
“ freshness” platform. This has been a major boost in expanding their market globally with
customers viewing the Subway chains as a place for healthy and tasty food. This positioning
fits very well with the market mix as it serves to make the restaurant part of the
customer’ s consideration set every day.Strength and WeaknessesSubway has much
strength over its competitors but it also does have weaknesses. It’ s main strengths are
using non-traditional channels, a menu that contains healthy, fresh and fast foods, having a
globally recognized brand, being in partnership with the American Heart Association,
having a globally recognized brand, the size and number of its channels and stores, menu
offerings that are customizable, low start up cost for franchisees and franchisee training
being brief, structured and designed to guarantee fast success and start-up (McCarty, pr
2).Subways weaknesses include an outdated décor with some franchisees being unhappy,
2. inconsistent service delivery from store to store, having no control of the franchise
saturation in certain market zones and a high employee turnover (McCarty, pr
2)Opportunities and ThreatsEvery business has threats and opportunities that it should
look at before entering a market. Some of Subway’ s threats include: stiff competition from
its competitors, law suits, food contamination especially in spinach, risk of economic
downturn, sabotage, interest costs and litigation or unrest in the franchisees.Subways
opportunities in the market are many if well exploited. These opportunities include
improving the customer service model, improving the relations of its franchisees, updating
their décor as a way of encouraging dine-in business, expansion of its channel opportunities
to also include event wagons, constant refreshing and revising of the menu offerings with an
expansion in the dessert offerings, expanding to include even the drive-through business
and establishing partnership with manufactured and movie producers with the objective of
promoting their products through co-branding opportunities and also the children’ s menu
packaging (McCarty, pr2)Target MarketsDue to the increase in demand for healthier foods
by the consumer population, Subway aims to target the customers who are obesity and
diabetes conscious. In recent years, there has been a decrease in the demand for fries and
hamburgers for healthier options. This is where the Subway stands to benefit as there is
increased demand for sandwiches. The sales of sandwiches have been on the increase with
a growth of 15% annually. This growth is now even better than the 3 percent that is for
steaks and burgers (CIM. 6).Subway mainly targets the younger generation that is nutrition
conscious with four categories being the major targets. These are the singles, the newly
married people, grownups that are still living with their parents and the families with young
children. The principle and status of the younger generation place emphasis mainly on
healthy diets (Moeen, 5).Market MixThe market mix usually consists of the four P’ s. These
are the Place, Product, Price, and Promotion. The Price should look at issues of level,
discrimination, and discount. The Promotion is involved with sales promotion, advertising,
and personal selling. The Product deals with the brand, packaging, display and the design.
Lastly the Place deals with service, warehousing, stockholding, and transportation. These
are usually the available tools that can be used to target customers (Lancaster and
Reynolds, 10). This market mix fits with the positioning strategy of the Subway restaurant
and can be of great help in dealing with the competition that the chain faces from its
competitors.Looking at the Product, Subway has a wider menu that includes dinners, pasta,
salads, desserts and soups. In addition, their products are fresh and of a better quality than
their competitors. Their main sandwich, the BMT, is a classic. In 1997, another menu called
the 7 under 6 menu was introduced. It features seven different submarine sandwiches with
6 grams of fat or lessThe Subway uses an upscale pricing which is a bit higher than that of
the normal subs in the market but with a differential view on value pricing with the
emphasis on the high quality of their products. In terms of place, Subway targets to open
2,010 fast food chains in Ireland and the United Kingdom only by sometime in 2011.
Subway has location preferences in areas with more customer satisfaction. They do close
their franchisees that are predatory and poor and upgrade those shops that are stripped
down to quasi deli restaurants (Swift, 17). Subway does their advertising mainly through
the national television on major cable and broadcast networks during sports, late
3. programming, and prime time. They also do advertise on radio, in print, menu translate and
using posters.ConclusionIn light of all these, it is clear that Subway restaurant is a well-run
restaurant with a strong marketing strategy that aims to deliver quality service that
satisfies the customer’ s interest. Their approach to the market is also encouraging with
their emphasis on healthier foods being commendable as it reduces the risk of diseases such
as diabetes. Their positioning fits with their market mix ensuring that they can get
maximum profits in the markets they are involved in. There are a few things though that if
changed would ensure that they offer even much better service enabling them to maximize
on their profits.RecommendationsSubway should put more emphasis on their strategic
brands without attempting to focus on value addition to their main recipe because it would
have the effect of distracting their target customers (Swift 50). They can also add new
product lines especially if they are willing to target markets with ethnicities and
immigrants. More awareness should be done on their breakfast offerings to ensure that the
restaurant stands out from its competition.Works CitedLancaster, Geoff and Reynolds, Paul.
Marketing made simple, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.Mccarty, Michael.
Fast Food Market Forecast-The Subway Example of Strategic Product Positioning. August
21, 2007. 23rd Nov. 2011< http://ezinearticles.com/?Fast-Food-Market-Forecast—
The-
Subway-Example-of-Strategic-Product-Positioning&id=735770>CIM. Marketing
Environment, 4th ed. London: BPP professional education, 2005.Swift, Jonathan. Marketing,
4 th ed. London: Holder & Stoughton, 2005.Moeen, Hiba. Marketing Strategy in Subway.
October 13, 2010. 23rd Nov. 2011< http:marketingmaniacs.net/2010/10/marketing-
strategy-in-subway.html>
