Subway Crisis Meeting Over Plummeting Sales

Subway has convened an urgent meeting with its franchisees across North America, as the fast-food chain grapples with declining sales and profits. The company, which operates approximately 19,000 sandwich shops, emphasized the importance of the conference in a communication to franchisees, stating, “We consistently and proactively communicate with our franchisees to share business updates and plans.” Franchisees have reported significant drops in same-store sales, with one operator noting a decline of 5% to 10% in recent weeks compared to the previous year. Data shared with The Post reveals troubling trends, particularly in an Eastern U.S. region where same-store sales fell by 8.7% between late June and mid-July. In Southern California suburbs, sales have decreased by 2% to 5%. This downturn is starkly contrasted with last year’s performance, when Subway reported a 5.9% increase in same-store sales across North America. Franchisees attribute the current struggles to aggressive discounting strategies that have failed to generate sufficient revenue. The situation is compounded by the waning popularity of Subway's promotional snack offerings, which have not been able to offset the financial losses. Competitors like White Castle have also engaged in price cuts, with their sliders now at a decade-low price. Meanwhile, McDonald's reported a 0.7% decline in same-store sales for the second quarter, marking its first negative performance in four years, indicating a broader trend of discounting wars failing to yield positive results.