After surviving one of the worst public relations nightmares to ever hit a company when it was discovered that their national spokesperson, Jared Fogle, was arrested on child pornography charges. The company found itself in pretty dire financial straits and had to end closing stores. This was not something the largest fast food chain in the world was used to doing. With more than 45,000 locations in 100 countries, they were used to growing the numbers of stores.
A change was needed at that top and a new CEO took over the reigns and unlike many other large corporations, the person who took over was not brought in from outside, rather it was an insider, who just happened to be the sister of the founder of Subway, Fred Deluca. Suzanne Greco who has worked at Subway since she was a little girl, is now in charge of one the best-known sandwich shops that is even larger than McDonald's.
Changes were needed
Despite having more locations than any other fast food chain in the world they found themselves needing to make some changes in order to keep up with the Joneses. Another reason for urgency is that Greco is really wanting to help Subway reach the very lofty goal set by her brother of having 100,000 locations worldwide.
So, in order to do this and still not stray away from the core values of the company to only use the freshest ingredients, simple food preparation process and maintain its close relationships with the local farmers that provide them with the freshest ingredients. So, the CEO decided that by renovating the look of the storefronts, giving them a more modern look was needed.
Then they turned to technology to help enhance the customer experience in hopes to help them bring back some of the customers that they lost due to the bad publicity that the Jared Fogle situation brought to the company. They have added kiosks inside the stores which helps to speed up the ordering process and cuts down on the long lines. They have also developed a mobile app which is tied to a loyalty program.
With all of the call for healthier food choices in the fast food industry, Subway is in a unique position in that it was always at the forefront of healthier food options. Their sandwiches featured plenty of fresh veggie options, freshly baked rolls and lots of fresh meats go into making each and every sandwich.
They are hoping that all of the changes that they have implemented recently will be the difference that helps propel them forward.
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