Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Thinking of opening a subway franchise GOOD IDEA OR BAD???

2»

Comments

  • #32
    amybabes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 350 ✭✭amybabes


    Agree with above post.... deli sales are down, this is due to the fact that it was construction workers who drove sales and made the breakfast roll a best seller during the celtic tiger era. my bf used spend about fifteen euro a day between breakfast roll, tea, paper, chocolate, crisps, sandwich at lunch etc. now he is bringing lunch from home! alot of the topaz petrol stations are doing great offers.....chicken baguette, crisps and bottle of water for 2.99, its now the era of special offers.
    I can only see subway doing well in cities and commuter towns, as someone already mentioned. coming from near enough a rural town in south tipp which has seen abra kebabra close down, and another chipper in the last few months....its not the ideal climate to be opening an expensive franchise.

    Quiznos sub is a much nicer franchise.....i havent seen too many of them in ireland but they are more popular than subway in the states i think. subs are more substantial, and the fillings seem fresher etc.


  • #33
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    SouthKerry wrote: »

    If you want to open a franchise why not look at other American sandwich companies that have not yet reached Ireland.

    Surely that defeats the whole idea of buying into a well known, established brand in the hope of chipping into their success?


  • #34
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    amybabes wrote: »
    my bf used spend about fifteen euro a day between breakfast roll, tea, paper, chocolate, crisps, sandwich at lunch etc. .

    I would seriously worry about his health with a diet like that.

    Personally, I never understood why people would pay through the nose for a badly made roll from a deli or fast food joint when you can make a lunch for yourself in about 2 mins while you're making the dinner.

    I ate a Subway once when I was on holidays - that was enough.


  • #35
    amybabes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 350 ✭✭amybabes


    he hasnt a pick on him though!! he eats like a horse and cant put on weight.

    im not a huge subway fan myself...its d smell of the place thats the most offputting!


  • #36
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    amybabes wrote: »
    he hasnt a pick on him though!! he eats like a horse and cant put on weight.

    im not a huge subway fan myself...its d smell of the place thats the most offputting!

    He's eating the wrong foods - with his work, he's physically active, but eating a heap of carbohyrates that break down really quickly, instead of the slow burn carbohyrdates you get in the likes of brown rice, beans & pulses.... plus he's filling himself full of sugars & salt - it's not the amount you eat, but the quality of food that you eat, that keeps you healthy...

    Which brings me back onto the subject of the thread - Subway, which has got to be one of the most unhealthy places I've ever been in!


  • Advertisement
  • #37
    kraggy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,414 ✭✭✭kraggy


    One of the subway shops in Galway closed down a couple of months ago.

    People are really turning off the food.

    I find it disgusting myself.


  • #38
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    kraggy wrote: »
    One of the subway shops in Galway closed down a couple of months ago.

    People are really turning off the food.

    I find it disgusting myself.

    Subway should go on Rodge & Podge's list of "Useless Sh*te We Didn't Need Anyway & Won't Really Miss."


  • #39
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 2,138 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    amybabes wrote: »
    he hasnt a pick on him though!! he eats like a horse and cant put on weight.

    im not a huge subway fan myself...its d smell of the place thats the most offputting!

    Skinny-fat syndrome! Tell him to watch himself because he may be skinny yet his arteries are definitely feeling it!!!

    Didn't come in here to have a go at your bf's diet so carry on!

    I did come in to have a go at Subway - their food is utter CRAP and so full of saturated fats. You may think I'm just a gym rat (and you're right) but more and more people are turning to fitness/more concerned with what they eat.

    I think Subway is just a phase, people will get sick of it after a while (sales will drop), I've had a Subway a couple of times (hungover sundays) in the Dun Laoghaire one and it's always spotless and reasonably quick but the variety is boring and small and the food is just prosthetic and disgustingly fake not to mention so over priced, there has got to be at least a 300% mark up on those prices. Wasn't that busy last time I was there either and I passed it 4 times a week at different times since my gym was next door to it!

    On a side note, anyone who can eat a footlong meatball sub and not get stomach cramps for the rest of the day - You're Superman so fair play.


  • #40
    starbelgrade
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,739 ✭✭✭✭starbelgrade


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Skinny-fat syndrome! Tell him to watch himself because he may be skinny yet his arteries are definitely feeling it!!!

    Didn't come in here to have a go at your bf's diet so carry on!

    I did come in to have a go at Subway - their food is utter CRAP and so full of saturated fats. You may think I'm just a gym rat (and you're right) but more and more people are turning to fitness/more concerned with what they eat.

    I think Subway is just a phase, people will get sick of it after a while (sales will drop), I've had a Subway a couple of times (hungover sundays) in the Dun Laoghaire one and it's always spotless and reasonably quick but the variety is boring and small and the food is just prosthetic and disgustingly fake not to mention so over priced, there has got to be at least a 300% mark up on those prices. Wasn't that busy last time I was there either and I passed it 4 times a week at different times since my gym was next door to it!

    On a side note, anyone who can eat a footlong meatball sub and not get stomach cramps for the rest of the day - You're Superman so fair play.

    I'm not a gym rat but I agree with everything you say - being a food rat*, I know that you can knock out a pizza for two from scratch for under €2.

    * = Newly invented despisable words, like "recessionista" :p


  • #41
    maninasia
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,635 ✭✭✭maninasia


    fiscalstudent wrote: »
    Pretty much sums up what I was going to say, I think there is a much bigger risk in trying to start an independent store rather than simply setting up a franchise. This is why franchises are so popular in the first place. I would never go to a random cafe that I knew nothing of if Subway was an option.

    ___________________________
    www.fiscalstudent.com

    I'd say you are looking at 100,000 to 200,000 to setup a franchise of Subway. That's a lot of cash. You need to pay the franchise fee every year too right?
    I've lived in a recessionary country for years and I'd be wary of spending that amount at the start, things go into deflationary spirals and that money will look like a lot more after a year or two! (to give you an idea of deflation Ireland will face go to a UK job site, write in your job description and see how much they are getting paid...ouch).
    I think good food will win out in the medium term and people will get more demanding. O'Briens and many operators were overcharging, the customers bucked at this. But there should be a space there now where 'value' and 'quality' will win. Where I live I get Subways often and I usually go for the Subway value deal (which is priced at 1/3 of Ireland, folks back home are still paying top dollar for everything), but if there was an independent deli with better quality at the same price as regular Subway I woud go there. I don't like to eat crap with my food either - coke, crisps, cookies.

    You've got to think why are people going into Subway when they wouldn't go into an independent place, then counteract that if it is feasible. Show people you have great deals going, professional graphics of the food if neccessary. Word of mouth will win out in a town for sure. Some of the customers are in a different bracket so it is not always worthwhile or possible to compete directly.

    You've got to think of it like this, if there is a Subway everywhere soon that becomes boring too, you can try doing better quality stuff, home made soups, teas etc. People are getting fatter and fatter and that is from processed foods. Keep it to simple food but more home-made stuff. It depends on the customer traffic in that area of course and your own motivation.

    It also depends on the location, a lot of through traffic or a residential area. If residential area or near a supermarket, town centre you could open a nice tea and coffee shop..
    As franchises go Subway is not a bad one but it is really fast food at the end of the day. Business is business so take your pick of the options.


  • Advertisement
  • #42
    MagicMarker
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 32,865 ✭✭✭✭MagicMarker


    gags89 wrote: »
    are you allowed expand your subway into a delivery business? I know they do the catering giant subs and platters etc, but just say an office rings in lunch orders, or even just like the normal take away model?
    Well they (not all) deliver in N. America sooo...


  • #43
    niceirishfella
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,538 ✭✭✭niceirishfella


    If ye all think Deli business is going down the pan, wait till next month when the new tax rates kick in.
    I'd sooner flush my cash down the jacks than open a subway or the likes.


  • #44
    dumbyearbook
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 842 ✭✭✭dumbyearbook


    Subway are definitely not able to compete with the offers that are out there (these are dublin but still relevant) in Spar Dawson St. Chiken Fillet roll and Crips and water was like 3.50 last time i was there , Londis Stephens Green BLT/Chicken Fillet roll @ 1.67 or with wedges 2.50 !

    Subway in the sticks is a bad idea at present it would seem theres no way people will buy into it they are still selling in Dublin CC but must be less $$ coming in, the most 'local' Subway I have seen is in Ballybofey Co. Donegal, which would compare with a Tipp store OP if thats what you are still looking for. That said its opposite a very popular Shopping centre which attracts people from all over the NW.


Advertisement