Ten years ago, Subway began offering its best-known promotion: A footlong sub sandwich for $5. You know that jingle. (Our apologies for inserting that between your ears.)
While this sounded like a decent deal for customers, to franchisees of the sub sandwich chain, the “$5 footlong” promotion was a drag on profits. When the company brought back the promotion on Jan. 1, according to the Los Angeles Times, hundreds of franchise owners wrote a stern letter claiming the deal’s slim profit margins could force locations to close. Subway responded by saying the promotion was optional, however, customers who see advertising of the deal may complain why select restaurants opted out.
Now, the Subway $5 footlong may be fully history. In an interview with USA Today, Subway CEO Trevor Haynes said the chain will no longer push the promotion, allowing individual locations to decide on its pricing. Haynes brought up the example that the economic model of selling a $5 sandwich is likely less profitable in California as it would be in Arkansas.
USA Today notes that franchisees can still opt to sell their sandwiches at $5, if they so choose, but given increasing competition and tighter margins, the only place you may wholly experience $5 footlongs is on YouTube.