Could Subway Start Fading Away?

There appears to be trouble for "Jared", as the largest sandwich chain is showing signs of struggle.  Could declining sales mean the end of Subway? This dad certainly hopes not.

 In our house, we don't eat out that often. At least we try not to.  But when we do, a popular choice seems to be America's favorite sub shop. So when I was stumbling across the net the other day, and saw this article titled, "The Rise And Fall of Subway", I had to stop for a minute and read it. What do you mean "fall of Subway"?  Are they closing shops? I was concerned.

In the article, they reveal that the brand took a 3% sales decline. To me, that doesn't seem like that big of a deal.  However, it was enough to drop them to 3rd on the list of top fast-food chains (behind McDs and Starbucks), and was the largest decline in the top 25 brands. That's not good.

I just don't get it. How can that happen as the brand seems hugely popular?  Apparently, according to the article, people would rather choose a place where they see their meat sliced fresh, and one that uses a real toaster, as opposed to a microwave contraption. I'm not one who goes the toasted route, so that part doesn't bother me.  I also know other chains who's big catch was their toasted subs, failed to take off, at least to the level of Subway.  So there's got to be more to this. Another article at technomic breaks it down a bit more.

All I know is I'm worried. While there certainly are plenty of other sandwich shops to choose from, change is never easy, especially to kids.  As long as they aren't closing any shops yet, I guess we'll be okay.

What's your take? Comment below.

[Via: WASHINGTON POST / TECHNOMIC BLOG]