Have you noticed everywhere you look there’s a Subway sandwich shop? Like literally on every street corner, and in every shopping center — there are one, now two, or perhaps three Subway eateries in a single mile radius? Yes? Well, that’s not just a coincidence.
Has the burger giant been dethroned? Well, yes and no.
Subway has now globally surpassed McDonald’s in store presence, a feat heretofore not accomplished by any other fast food company. The sandwich chain opened 33,749 restaurants worldwide at the end of last year, to McDonald’s 32,737 stores. That’s a lot of five-dollar foot longs.
What does this say about the expectation of our eating habits? Certainly we all recall recent marketing campaigns that tout Subway sandwiches as an alternative to typical greasy fast food choices. Their liberal use of words like “eat fresh,” is used often to combat the growing concerns regarding the copious trans fats and high caloric counts of their fast food counterparts.
Even our friend “Jared the Subway Guy” still appears every now and again to show us that he’s kept the weight off, even though we are well aware that if you eat excessively at any fast food restaurant any and all attempts will be outweighed by sheer input of calories. A bit of slight of hand on the part of Subway? Perhaps. But the nutritional data is solid. It’s true that the sandwich giant does offer options that in moderation are healthier than the typical fast food fare.
For instance, Subway’s “Fresh Fit” meal option includes sliced turkey, lean roast beef, or Black Forest ham, with fresh veggies, (without cheese, mayo, or any of the other sauce choices), on baked whole grain bread, and a choice of apples, yogurt, or baked chips, and a water. Average total calories: 355 to 450. Conversely, McDonald’s flagship Big Mac Meal, which includes a Big Mac, medium french fries, and a large soda, is a staggering 1230 calories. In addition, the newer Angus Third Pounder burger tips the scales at 720 to 860 calories (depending on options) alone.
This is not to say that McDonald’s, in a demonstrated mea culpa, hasn’t stepped up their game to offer healthier options like salads, wraps, fresh fruit, yogurt, smoothies, and other lesser fatty foods, but realistically these fewer options are not what’s driving consumers to eat their offerings. And it shows in their revenue.
While Subway is dominating store numbers, McDonald’s is still the overall revenue champ. The company reported $24 billion in revenue for its last fiscal year. Subway generated roughly $15.2 billion, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
McDonald’s on Tuesday said global sales at established restaurants in February rose 3.9 percent, as strong sales in Europe helped offset a U.S. market that was hit by high unemployment and rising gasoline prices. In addition, February sales were up 2.7 percent here in the United States, helped by strong demand for its McCafe beverages, reports the Associated Press.
So apparently to offset sales lost nationally because people were out of work and couldn’t afford gasoline to get to a McDonald’s drive thru, the company is relieved that some people were able to beat the odds and drag themselves in the stores for McDonald’s new line of coffee sundaes.
Obviously this is the next obstacle Subway has to face in its efforts for complete fast food domination. Sadly, I think there are probably fewer actual “winners” here than both companies would like to acknowledge.
