Subway is a global fast food franchise specializing in submarine sandwiches. It was founded by Fred DeLuca in 1965, in the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut. DeLuca had borrowed $1000 from his friend Peter Buck in order to start a small sandwich shop. The restaurant was originally called “Pete’s Submarines”. Even though the location was far from optimal, by lunch time on the opening days, dozens of customers were arriving at the newly opened sandwich shop.
Since then, the business has been a wide success. As of 2009, there are over 30 000 Subway restaurants, operating in 90 countries around the world. Subway is well known for its different types of submarine sandwiches, which come in various sizes, from 4 inch long “Mini Subs” to the “Giant Sub” which is only available in certain markets and is more than 3 feet long, with the most common sub varieties being 6 inch long and 1 foot long. In addition to sandwiches, Subway also serves other foods on their menu depending on the location. Examples include bagels, salads, cookies and small pizzas.
Some analysts believe that the growth experienced by Subway is due in large part to it being seen as a “healthier” fast-food chain by consumers. Subway has also capitalized on this perception by using Jared Fogle, a university student who lost over 240 pounds with a diet based mostly on Subway products and combined with physical activity and exercise.
Subway previously had a rewards program called the “Sub Club”, in which consumers would receive a certain number of stamps that they could paste into a small card every time they bought most products at a Subway restaurant. Unfortunately, that program was discontinued in many markets, including the United States and Canada, due to widespread counterfeiting, fraud and theft of entire rolls of stamps.
There are however, some Subway coupons still available. Most are distributed by direct mail through flyers. Some coupons are also inserted into newspapers in many cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. Many Subway coupons are offers to buy one sandwich and get another one free, which is great if you are eating out with friends or taking work colleagues for lunch. There are also some coupons which give discounts on the purchase of certain sandwiches, for example a foot-long sandwich for $2. They are also known to discount their prices by running daily sandwich specials and offering other promotional strategies like the $5 foot long sub campaign. Make sure you check the expiry date of the coupons, as most of them are valid only for a limited time. There are occasionally some printable coupons available online, which can be obtained by signing up to the Subway FreshBuzz program on their website. By signing up, you will receive special promotions, news and information on upcoming products available in Subway restaurants in your area.
In some locations in North America, they also offer a “Subway Card”, which acts as a debit card to buy products at participating Subway locations and can be loaded with a certain amount of money. These cards make a great gift and are often distributed as prizes in online contests or given as a reward by employers to workers who perform well.
