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Subway franchisee adverts recently, are they still profitable ?!

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    For a while several years ago, it was the in-thing with a couple of Indians I knew. A couple of them had multi-location franchises.

    However, as a product their appeal is limited. As a company, I'm not too sure - look at their latest investor briefings and annual reports / stock updates and see if this is a company that you're going to invest your hard earned cash and time in.

    The last subway I had was about 20+ years ago in the US - used to like their meatball subs at lunch.
    For a while, they were the restaurant chain with the most outlets globally. Not McDonalds or Starbucks, but Subway was no.1 in having the most restaurants in the world. But there was a price paid for such dominance in the market. They over-expanded with franchisee opening their outlets literally just across the street from each other. They were engaged in vicious competition with each other which in turn drove down revenue. This resulted in a wave of store closures that is still ongoing as we speak.

    Subway was also rigid and unwilling to change their menu despite competitors introducing new items that appealed to more customers. They hired rival franchisee as "quality inspectors" for new outlets, which meant these franchisee would look for any excuse to shut them down to reduce competition to their own store.

    And of course, there was the Jared Fogle scandal. He was a fat obese man who turned slime thanks to a diet of Subway sandwiches. He subsequently became a spokeperson of the brand and the face of Subway. Unfortunately, he was later caught as a sex offender. Subway cut ties with him of course after he was arrested, but him being the face of the brand certainly tarred the reputation of the company.

    Which is such a shame, I like Subway. Their sandwiches taste good. Certainly better than the alternative at McDonalds. And unlike say Pret, you have a choice of toppings you can add. Personally, I prefer if they can stay in HK, as having an extra option is always good for the customer.

  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:

    Which is such a shame, I like Subway. Their sandwiches taste good. Certainly better than the alternative at McDonalds. And unlike say Pret, you have a choice of toppings you can add. Personally, I prefer if they can stay in HK, as having an extra option is always good for the customer.
    Agreed. I never understood the appeal of Pret as you're over paying for the courtesy of a pre-made, un-customizable meal and I do think that Subway is a much healthier alternative to other fast food restaurants.

    It's a shame that Hong Kong hasn't really grasped the Chipotle / Cava Mezze / Sweetgreen fast casual, semi-healthy concept.
    shri, Coolboy and AsianXpat0 like this.

  3. #13

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    I always wonder why some franchises exist. Why would I want to pay Subway money? It's just a shop selling sandwiches, and its appeal is that it has a variety of toppings. I can go to Taste, buy the bread and a bunch of toppings, open a shop and sell the sandwiches. Why on earth would I have to pay someone to put the name "Subway" on the top of my shop? People don't come to my shop because of the name, they come because of the choice of toppings. Same for all the pizza shops.

    Besides, many of these franchises are US based. For example Domino pizza. You pay to use the name Domino, but in HK nobody even ever heard of this name, so you can as well open your own shop and call "Diamond pizza", which is more catchy than Domino, and you save the money you pay them. And don't tell me you pay for a superior product. All these American franchises are basically disgusting (starting with Pizza Hut).

    The only shops that sell something "unique" (almost) are MCDonald and KFC. They are difficult to copy because so very yukky.

    mokhi6 likes this.

  4. #14

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    There are a few subway franchises kicking around in central.


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by pin:
    There are a few subway franchises kicking around in central.
    Also one in Sai Kung (at least some time ago), with foreigners or Chinese who wish they were foreigners.

  6. #16

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    Most if not all Subways are individually owned so at times you get one whose owner wants to be cheap about things including how much meat actually goes on the sandwich. I have had to complain. They want to make as much profit as possible. I have read that the owners are usually struggling to make ends meet. After they pay out their franchise fees etc. It’s not very lucrative until you pay off everything. Which takes a long time. Be careful. Read the very fine print.

    Last edited by GlennBond; 07-12-2020 at 01:03 PM. Reason: Spelling
    shri, AsianXpat0, mokhi6 and 2 others like this.

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by john_1122:
    I always wonder why some franchises exist. Why would I want to pay Subway money? It's just a shop selling sandwiches, and its appeal is that it has a variety of toppings. I can go to Taste, buy the bread and a bunch of toppings, open a shop and sell the sandwiches. Why on earth would I have to pay someone to put the name "Subway" on the top of my shop? People don't come to my shop because of the name, they come because of the choice of toppings. Same for all the pizza shops.
    .
    If there was no demand Subway would not exist. Clearly enough people find it worth their while to buy one. Sometimes it's not a matter of logic but personal preference that sustains a brand.

  8. #18

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    Walked into one, saw the person making a sandwich, handling money, then making another sandwich without changing gloves. Walked out.


  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by john_1122:
    Chinese who wish they were foreigners.
    eh?
    shri and Hkemail888 like this.

  10. #20

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    Spoke to a Franchise owner and he said it was very hard to find staff in HK. Actually a couple of restaurateurs I talked to complained there was a shortage of kitchen staff