Subway Sandwich Shops Situation Analysis

Subway Sandwich Shops Situation Analysis

Subway Sandwich, as presented in the Case Study presented in the Marketing Management MGT 551 class, is an undisputed market leader in a segment that is “firmly established as a nationwide food item for which there is plenty of room in all areas” (University of Phoenix, 2008). However, with a growing competition, changing consumer trends and increased product specialization, Subway’s real strategic marketing challenge is to be able to develop and maintain a differential advantage while sustaining sales growths and profitability.

Subway Sandwich effectively competes with other fast-food restaurants by including and promoting healthier meals into its menu, as demonstrated by singling out its submarines with 6 grams of fat or less, and through its advertising campaign featuring Jared “the Subway guy” who lost 245 pounds in one year on a strict Subway diet (Subway, 2008). However, as demonstrated below in a market summary complemented by a SWOT Analysis, it is determined that Subway must attract a clientele beyond its traditionally health-conscious consumers in order to overcome their marketing challenges and increase its individual stores’ volumes and profitability.

Market Summary

The Sandwich Market – a Growing Industry

Consumers’ interests for hamburgers and fries have been steadily decreasing to favor sandwiches, which gives Subway a competitive advantage over competition such as MacDonald’s or Burger King, for example. While most fast food restaurants react to this phenomenon by modifying their menus to include healthier choices, Subway benefits from the 15% annual sales growth of sandwiches compared to a lean 3% growth for hamburgers and steaks (McCarty, 2007). The United States...

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Subway (2008, June). Jared’s incredible story. In Menu/Nutrition, All About jared. Retrieved June 15, 2008 from www.subway.com

University of Phoenix, (2008, June). Case 1: Subway Sandwich Shops. In MKT 551 – Marketing Management rEsource webpage. Retrieved June 17, 2008 from https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

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