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It was March 2008 and America was about to sink into the Great Recession.
The Wall Street powerhouse, Bear Stearns, had just imploded, sending shock waves into the global financial markets. The savings and jobs were starting to disappear. Foreclosure notices covered neighborhoods. And as a financially terrified nation began searching the couch cushions for a change of replacement like never before, Subway launched the 5-foot-long special.
The budget deal – 12 inches of bread, meat and vegetables for a few dollars – has become an instant hit for the fast food brand based in Connecticut. As Businessweek reported in 2009, in the first two weeks of the campaign, that sales grew by 25% on average in Subway stores. Marketing jingle has become a phenomenon of pop culture. The 5-foot long would generate $ 3.8 billion in sales nationally by the end of August 2009, making Subway the top 10 fast food brands in the country.
Fast forward to today: The $ 5 long that the world knows is no more.
In an interview with USA Today, Subway's CEO, Trevor Haynes, revealed that the company would no longer need its franchisees to run the promotion. In recent years, promotion had become a contentious issue among shop owners, with some believing that the operation had not helped their profitability. According to the newspaper, homeowners will be able to decide for themselves whether or not they want to use the offer.
"How can we help our franchises with a more regional value message, so they are able to have a value proposition that fits their business model," Haynes told USA Today. "If you look at California, the cost of doing business is very different from that of Arkansas."
The chain was created in 1965, at the initiative of 17-year-old Fred DeLuca, who was hoping his company would take him through a medical school. The origins of the $ 5 transaction date back to 2004, when a Miami franchise owner, Stuart Frankel, noticed that his two Subway restaurants in a local hospital had died on weekends. His solution was to lower the usual price for a 12-inch sandwich – so 5 dollars.
"I like the round figures," Frankel told Businessweek. Soon, its hospitable restaurants were inundated on the weekends. The promotion continued with the store owners until the head office became aware of it and brought the special to all of the company's sites.
The current culinary scene is very different from the market. Subway has dominated the years of recession with unbeatable sound and an unbeatable price. The brand currently has more than 44,000 franchises in 110 countries. But as the Washington Post reports in 2015, Subway has suffered from competitors such as Chipotle and Firehouse Subs, which apparently offer higher quality food and more options for consumers.
The company's image was not helped when Jared Fogle, the maker of the brand, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2015 to child pornography charges.
In his interview with USA Today, Haynes, the company's CEO, acknowledged that Subway sites would begin offering new menus and special offers.
"Affordable food is what we have always advocated," Haynes told the newspaper. "It's not just a price."
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